Farmers Weekly Photo Comp 2024: The finalists revealed

This year’s Farmers Weekly Photography Competition has provided a stunning snapshot of rural life across the UK, capturing everything from inquisitive animals and breathtaking landscapes to mega farm machines.

The variety and quality of entries have been exceptional, reflecting the diversity and beauty of the countryside.

Thank you to everyone who submitted photographs. It has been a pleasure to see them and to learn the stories behind each shot, offering a unique window into the experiences of those who live and work in rural communities.

Here are the eight category winners of the 2024 Photography Competition, along with two standout entries from each category that the judges felt also deserved recognition.

The overall “winner of winners”, along with the two runners-up, will be picked from the eight winners below.

These photographers, who will share the £500 prize, will be revealed in the 3 January 2025 issue of Farmers Weekly.

See also: Video: Classic machinery brings in the spring barley harvest

Livestock

Winner

Hazel Birch-Ellis, Shropshire

Hazel Birch-Ellis captured this heartwarming moment between a newborn calf and mother in the depths of winter on Charlie Ayres’ Woofferton Court Farm in Ludlow, Shropshire.

Charlie is a third-generation farmer and manages 55 pedigree Limousin cows and a mix of arable and sheep across 500 acres.

“When checking on the cattle in the evening, I could hear the faint moo of the newborn,” says Charlie.

“Turning the lights on I could see this steaming-fresh baby and dam and it was just a lovely surprise after a tough, cold few days on the farm.”

Highly commended

Rachel Smith, Lincolnshire

“I think it’s important to take photos that make farming look good, with a positive outlook,” says Rachel Jayne Smith, who captured the cows’ breath on a cold, frosty morning, with the heat rising from fresh silage.

Rachel milks 170 pedigree Holstein and Brown Swiss cows at Manor Farm near Grantham, Lincolnshire.

The farm pasteurises 1,500 litres of milk a week for its on-farm vending machine.

Rebecca Williams, Lincolnshire  

Contract shepherdess Rebecca Williams is based at Iron Oak Farm in Harrowby, Lincolnshire.

She manages an 18-acre self-sufficient farm with sheep, goats, alpacas, pigs, a horse called Frankie, and two Dexter cattle.

A keen photographer, she enjoys shooting farm life and country scenes.

Her photo shows four-month-old Oxford Sandy and Black crossed with Gloucester Old Spot piglets feeding in a rare moment of stillness.

“It was their first meal away from their mother and such a sweet sight,” she says. 

Black and White

Winner

Penny Paisley, West Yorkshire

The chunkiest of these Greyface Dartmoor lambs was enjoying throwing his weight around at West Moor House Farm in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

Penny Paisley loves to catch these candid shots of her lambs and she managed to snap this when she was shepherding.

“They are docile, playful lambs that always make me want to bring my camera out,” she says.

Highly commended

Heather Ross, north Warwickshire

Walking around the farm and snapping striking pictures is the perfect stress-reliever for Heather Ross.

She sent this stunning photo of starlings taking over the cubicle building at Whitehouse Farm in Nether Whitacre, north Warwickshire.

The incredible noise led her to this beautiful sight, although the muck they left after was not as pretty!

Helen Cussons, West Yorkshire

Helen Cussons from West Yorkshire captured some of her suckler cows on a nice evening at the beginning of October, just before they were brought in for the winter on Cliff Hollins Farm in Oakenshaw.

Helen won’t be caught without a camera in hand as inspiration is all around her on the 100-acre family farm, where her 80 suckler cows are a favourite subject.

Machinery

Winner

Steve Barnes, south Shropshire

“I happened to be driving past and the sun was just right. It was one of those mornings,” says second-generation farmer Steve Barnes, who took this atmospheric photograph on 200-acre Barnsland Farm in south Shropshire.

The mixed enterprise runs sheep and grows a variety of crops; the mouldboards were out in readiness to prepare the ground for wheat when Steve took this shot with his smartphone.

Highly commended

Rob Barrie, Aberdeenshire

The epic clifftop ruins of Dunnottar Castle in Kincardineshire, near Aberdeen, were the backdrop for Rob Barrie’s drone shot of barley harvest.

Dunnotar Mains Farm, run by Len Duguid, grows 90 acres of the crop, and the team – Len on carting duties and colleague Scott Begg in the combine – were cutting Diablo at 8t/ha.

Rob works in the oil and gas industry but is originally from the Borders near Greenlaw, where his brother and father still farm.

“The pictures I enjoy the most are where I can mix nice scenery and farming – maybe because I miss the family farm, he says.

“I usually get strange looks from tourists at Dunnottar when I’m taking pictures of combines and tractors in the fields next to the castle and they are pointing their cameras at the castle.”

Sam, Cheshire

A recent trip to the Netherlands, where Sam visited the site of the Battle of Arnhem in which his great-uncle fought in the Second World War, inspired this shot framed by poppies.

Sam, 20, who works for a local agricultural contractor, took the photo on an arable farm near Knutsford, Cheshire, when he was ploughing a stubble field ready for winter wheat.

“Sam has a good eye for a photo and loves to take pictures of natural landscapes and nature in general – and, of course, tractors,” says his mum Nichola, who entered the shot on his behalf. 

Pets

Winner

Bruce Leiper, Kent

Hannah Carmichael wanted a shot of her dog Aimee jumping a log in the woods as a gift for her boyfriend. 

So she enlisted the help of friend Bruce Leiper to take the photo as she crouched beside him and called Aimee towards her.

Bruce caught the two-year-old Lab in mid-flight, resulting in this incredible image, taken in Rolvenden woods near Edenbridge, Kent, where Hannah’s work for Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain involves her passporting horses.

Highly commended

Courtney Watts, Guernsey

This is Sprout, the wirehaired Hungarian vizsla pup, helping turn hay.

He was snapped by Courtney Watts on her iPhone as she was chilling for five minutes while waiting for the tractor to arrive with the baler.

“We’d just finished a batch of hay and Sprout had got hold of some of it,” says Courtney, who works for Guernsey Agricultural Services, growing and harvesting grass and maize silage on the island.

Sprout is always with her in the tractor as she works: “Most of my camera roll is my dog doing things,” she laughs.

Wesley Chambers, Peak District

This photo of Kit the cat and Hetty the hen was taken by Wesley Chambers, who always has a camera slung round his neck, says Kit’s owner Felicity Brown.

“We were chatting in our farmyard and just happened to see Kit sat by the stables with Hetty right behind her – you couldn’t recreate this spontaneous moment if you tried,” she says.

The family farm, a 250-acre hill farm on the southern edge of the Peak District, runs a herd of Hereford-cross cows and a small flock of Texel-cross ewes. 

Wildlife

Winner

Harry Whymark, Lowestoft, Suffolk

Fourteen-year-old Harry Whymark, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, may have his year 9 schoolwork to do, but it doesn’t stop him helping out on his dad’s 5,000-acre estate. 

Somerleyton Hall has crops, livestock, and an Exmoor pony rewilding project.

Harry is also an aspiring wildlife and sunset photographer, and captured this red stag while driving through the woods near Fritton Lake. 

“We turned a corner, and it was just there, staring at me,” says Harry.

Highly commended

Katherine Calvert, North Yorkshire

“I wanted to take some pictures of the heather when it was at its best,” says Katherine Calvert. 

“One late afternoon, I went for a short walk hoping to see some grouse, but no luck, so I headed back to the car.

“On my way back I noticed something in the heather. Straight away I knew it was a hedgehog, curled up in a ball, so I quickly got a snap.”

Katherine, a farmer’s daughter from Swaleside Farm in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, raises beef cattle and Swaledale sheep.

A passionate amateur photographer, she loves capturing farm animals and the stunning Swaledale landscapes.  

Linda Chapman, Northamptonshire

Since receiving her first camera at the age of 10, Linda Chapman, who grew up on South Lodge Farm, a 1,200-acre arable farm in east Northamptonshire, has loved capturing the rhythm of farm life, animals and sunsets. 

While out on a walk and hoping to photograph owls at nearby Elton Hall, she was delighted to spot a tawny owl in daylight, a rare and special moment for a passionate wildlife photographer. 

Landscapes

Winner

Sam Turner, Worcestershire/Herefordshire border

Sam Turner has immortalised the view from Jubilee Field on the family’s former 600-acre farm, Knightwick Manor, on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border.

Before the farm was recently sold, the Turners reared pedigree Hereford cattle at Knightwick and had a 200-head red deer herd.

“I absolutely love photography; it helps me to relax and zone out, says Sam, who took the photo on a misty morning while out walking.

Highly commended

Danny McCarthy, Caithness

Vibrant campions growing in the shelter of an old, lichen-covered drystone dyke provide the foreground for Danny McCarthy’s shot taken on Longoe Farm, Caithness.

The livestock farm runs Aberdeen Angus cattle and North Country Cheviot sheep.

“In the distance is the Pentland Firth and Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain,” says Danny, who was checking on some cows that were near calving at the time.

“The view looked bright and the colours vivid thanks to the unique light quality in the north of Scotland in early June.”

Mervin Straughan, North Yorkshire

Lifecoach and counsellor Mervin Straughan, who lives in Flaxby on the outskirts of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, is passionate about the benefits of photography. 

He took this shot of grazing cows while out walking with wife Jacqui in Nidderdale, near Pateley Bridge.

The pair have been keen walkers since Covid lockdowns started the habit of getting outdoors with a purpose. 

“Walking through farmland really puts you in touch with nature and the seasons – it’s good for the soul,” says Mervin.

Young

Winner

Peter Megginson, East Yorkshire

Teenager Peter Megginson is a keen TikToker and spent most of his summer this year either on a tractor or taking pictures of them and other farm machinery.

In this incredible drone picture, he gives us a spectacular bird’s-eye view of harvest on his family’s mixed regenerative 350-acre farm in East Yorkshire.

The 13-year-old’s love of tractors doesn’t stop at photography – he will be starting tractor training in the spring and can’t wait to get in the driving seat.

Highly commended

Sam Frampton, Manor Farm

Fourth-generation young farmer Sam Frampton, 16, finds his family farm in Dorset is the perfect study for his photography GCSE.

While he’s helping his dad out at Manor Farm, he likes to stop occasionally to snap pictures of his cows, including this artistically framed shot of a calf. 

Mackenzie Glass Smith, Aberdeenshire

© Mackenzie Glass-Smith

Out feeding the sheep one morning, 16-year-old Mackenzie Glass-Smith took this fabulous photo, not realising at the time quite how well it had turned out.

Reviewing the day’s shots later, he was hit by the play of light in the sky above the flock and just had to enter it into our competition.

Mackenzie hopes to one day become an agronomist, but while waiting to sign up for training, he lends a hand on his family farm, Mill of Fowlis in Aberdeenshire.

People

Winner

Mili Smith, Aberdeenshire

This photo, taken by Mili Smith at her partner Robbie’s farm in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, shows them in awe of the rare Northern Lights – a childhood dream realised.

“I love the Northern Lights. I had always wanted to see them,” says Mili.

“As a kid, I used to think you could only see them in Iceland. My boyfriend and I watched them there for an hour.”

When not taking photos of sunsets and landscapes, Mili spends time on the mixed farm, which runs a dairy herd and grows potatoes and barley.  

Highly commended

Kerry Adams, Nottinghamshire

Kerry Adams, based at Haughton Hall Farm near Retford, Nottinghamshire, has captured the essence of farming and nostalgia.

“My dad used to point out fields of bales to us and how wonderful they looked. 

“Now I’m exactly the same. I have a love for nostalgia and storytelling within my photography,” she says.

Inspired by childhood memories of countryside beauty, she photographed farmers Dan Bartle and Nicholas Kitchen, celebrating the restoration of a cherished John Deere tractor. 

Alexandria James, Dorset

Alexandria James captured daughter Edith, three, with one of the farm’s piglets. 

“She’s obsessed with the piglets, it’s so lovely to see,” says Alexandria, who fosters a hands-on, farm-centric approach to childhood.

The family is based at Salisbury Road Farm in Dorset, and runs 150 sheep and keeps one breeding sow. 

“I am keen to help the next generation to get into farming, so I encourage them to explore.”