FW photo competition 2020: Winners and best of the rest

What better way to round off a turbulent and at times, tricky year with the best of British farming and countryside in 24 incredible photos?

It’s been a record-breaking year for Farmers Weekly‘s ever-popular photography competition and the team has thoroughly enjoyed judging all of the 8,500 submissions.

It took us a while, but we eventually managed to whittle your snaps down to a winner, runner-up and highly commended entry for each of the eight competition categories.

See also: All of the competition photos

The winning shots from each category will be considered for the grand prize of £250 and the coveted “Winner of Winners” title.

Our overall winner will be revealed in the next issue of Farmers Weekly (1 January 2021), so stay tuned to find out who has earned themselves the top prize.

We’re pleased to also award cash prizes of £150 to overall second place and £100 to the third-placed entry considered for the “Winner of Winners” award.

We’d like to thank everyone of our readers who entered the competition this year – we were blown away by the high quality and creativity of your images.

Livestock

Winner

This is Dynamite – the first ram in the Hill Radnor flock, which Scott Millar started this year. 

“He was set to work with his ladies shortly after this picture was taken,” says Monmouth-based Scott, whose day job is with Farmplan, the agricultural software and IT company. “He is very friendly and loves a face scratch.”

Runner-up

Ellie Baker took this one on the family farm in Hadlow, Kent where they have a small commercial flock of sheep – mainly North Country Mules and Suffolks. The image shows twin sisters, Lucky and Sunshine, “who are practically inseparable, even sharing the last few berries on the trees as winter fast approaches”, says Ellie.

Highly commended

“The cows are at the bottom of the farm and whether it’s morning or evening, they always have an incredible sunrise and sunset to admire,” says Beth Wilder. Beth took this one at Preston St Mary in Suffolk, where her father-in-law is a farm manager. “I go past the cattle every day on my dog walks or horse rides and they just love all the attention and a good scratch!”

Machinery

Winner

This cracking Massey Ferguson shot is by Alan Hopps from County Armagh in Northern Ireland. Seeing a lovely sunset, he stepped off the tractor and took this shot on the home farm near Keady.

Alan works for the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise in Northern Ireland as a dairying adviser.

He helps out on the home dairy farm at weekends and enjoy taking pictures in his spare time with a Canon 5D MK IV.

“This picture was taken on a wintry February afternoon. As the sun went down the sky lit up and the tractor happened to be in the right place for the red sky. A few minutes later, the colours disappeared and it was back to a dreary and grey afternoon.”

Runner-up

Pat Armitage used his iPhone to snap this shot while pushing up muck heaps on a frosty February morning. He’s an assistant farm manager on a mixed farm in Lancashire.

“The sun, frost and steam from the muck were just right for a picture,” says Pat.

Highly commended

Early morning maize drilling near Clovelly in Devon was the subject of Stewart Blight’s entry. 

Farming generations

Winner

This charming shot, called “Grandad leading the way”, was taken by Claire Iveson. It shows her father, Mac, and her nephew Kayden.

Describing  herself as a “shepherdess and countryside lover”, Claire enjoys taking photos of everyday life at the family farming business near Masham in North Yorkshire, where there are arable, sheep and cattle enterprises.

“Kayden is farm-obsessed, particularly when it comes to machinery, and really looks up to his grandad,” she says. 

Runner-up

“Father and daughter… this is how it’s done,” is how Marjorie Johnston entitled this image, showing her husband Archie and daughter Heather (and Rusty the Lab) scanning the scenery after silaging was finished at the farm at Sorn in Ayrshire. “It shows that satisfied feeling when the silage is all done and the field cleared,” she says.

Highly commended

This one came from Oxfordshire-based Ellena Nunneley and shows her son Austin, helping Tyson, his father.

“He has been obsessed with copying daddy since day one and absolutely loves anything to do with farming,” says Ellena.

“He now has his own shearing trousers and obviously wears his singlet (actually a vest!) so he and daddy can look the same.”

Landscapes

Winner

James Little happened to be in the right place at the right time to take this stunning shot, which overlooks Parmontley Hall Farm, part of Whitfield Estate in Northumberland.

“During the autumn months the sun always creates lovely long shadows in the valley,” says 26-year-old James, a member of Shaftoe YFC.

“I have often seen the sun casting shadows from the trees in the valley around the farm but never had my camera with me. It was during one autumnal day when there was still some colour left in the tree leaves and the sun was setting – and this time I had my camera.”

Runner-up

It was worth braving the freezing temperatures for Darren Chapman to capture this early-morning sky above Kypie Farm in Northumberland.

Head chef Darren lives on the farm where his wife Anne farms with her parents, David and Marlyn Mair.

“I took this photo one morning on my way to work. It is a 15sec exposure taken at our road end, I remember it being absolutely Baltic,” he says.

Highly commended

This is beautiful Burwick in the Shetland Islands, taken by Austin Taylor. It shows a traditional croft landscape, with a fish farm and the island of Foula in the background.

“Everything was perfect and created a peaceful rural scene for me to photograph,” he says.

“I had been meaning to visit here for a long time and a sunny autumn day brought some warm temperatures and beautiful light as I approached this isolated settlement over the hill.”

Pets

Winner

“I can’t put into words how much I have loved farming my hill farm in the Lake District so I’m going to try to do it with pictures,” says Mary Brough, who captured this striking image of sheepdog Fred.

“The picture was taken at the base of Meal Fell, where we were looking for strays after the first gather,” she explains.

“Fred is only two years’ old, but wise for his age and a great workmate and companion,” adds Mary, who is the third generation of her family to farm at the spot in the northern Fells.

Runner-up

“I went back to the Land Rover one morning and his sweet eyes were looking out for me,” says Brook Dawson, referring to Yoda, her boss’s three-year-old dog. 

“He is a shooting dog and loves to be out helping, but he also loves some fuss,” adds Brook, who took the picture on a farm in the Lincolnshire Wolds. “Those brown eyes just make you forget everything.”

Highly commended

This wintry scene was captured by Lizzy Murrell in east Norfolk during the “Beast from the East” in 2018. It features the two Suffolk Punch mares, Polly and Lucy.

Wildlife

Winner

Lorna McNiven spied this robin perching on the tractor’s mudguard and decided to take a photo. She lives on her parents’ mixed farm in Aberdeenshire and says capturing this particular shot was blind luck.

“This little robin is often spotted hooping around on the bonnet and singing,” she says.

“I was taking photos of the lambs at sunrise, and heard the robin singing. I turned and to my surprise the robin was right behind me dancing around on the tractor.”

Runner-up

This striking colour capture of two starlings showing off their sparkle was taken by keen photographer Caroline Knox on the Isle of Wight, where she farms with father.

“I have long been chasing some good starling photos. I took this image on top of a washing line very quickly. The sun caught their colours beautifully.”

Highly commended

Nothing runs like a deer, as they say. Kerensa Cobbledick takes credit for catching this fantastic action shot of a deer running alongside a John Deere.

Black and white

Winner

Warwickshire mixed farmer and serial FW photo comp champion Heather Ross does it again with this wonderfully clear black and white image.

It shows one of the family’s cows waiting patiently in the calving pen on Christmas morning last year.

Runner-up

This lamb looks thoroughly unimpressed with the rain, but Lorna McNiven was rather more grateful. The photo was taken during first rain after the driest spring in Aberdeenshire for 30 years.

“It isn’t often that I would photograph animals in the rain and although the lamb looks sad I think there is something beautiful about it too.”

Highly commended

Hannah Taylor impressed the judges with this super portrait of her right hand man Roo. She runs a flock of sheep with her partner Chris and competes in open sheepdog trials.

“He’s my shadow on the farm, a dog of a lifetime,”” she says.

Young photographer

Winner

Noah Thompson, who’s 13, took this on the farm where he lives in Cheshire. There were two Massey Ferguson tractors working the ground in a field near his house and his eye was caught by the look of the soil being turned over. He captured it on his Panasonic LUMIX camera.

Runner-up

Dusk provided a great opportunity for Roberta Hutton, who submitted this shot called “Heading West”.

“I took it looking West – the sun had set but the sky was still bright on a footpath on our farm,” she says.

The 15-year-old, who lives in Hampshire, says she took the photo on a cold autumn evening when “the sky was lit up in a deep magical blue”.

Highly commended

Connie Smith, who lives in East Sussex, grabbed this great image. As well as having a great eye for a photograph, the 12-year-old is a member of Ringmer and Lewes Young Famers Club.