Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: Ag Student of the Year
Ben Chilman © MAG/Colin Miller Ben Chilman of New House Farm, Herefordshire, is Farmers Weekly’s Awards 2022 Ag Student of the Year.
Farming will always need passionate, knowledgeable and diligent supporters to fight its corner and remind people that a prosperous agriculture industry is vital to society.
One such ambassador is Ben Chilman, an ambitious Harper Adams graduate who impressed the judges with his achievements at university and his work to improve mental health awareness within farming.
See also: FW Awards 2022: Ag Student of the Year finalists
Whether he is behind the microphone, out in the fields, or attending industry events, his enthusiasm for UK agriculture is evident in everything he does.
Ben’s podcast, EweTurn, has been praised for its light-hearted but candid conversations about agriculture and important industry issues such as mental health.
The 22-year-old wants to one day run the mixed family farm in north Herefordshire, but has his sights set on a career in the farming media, having shown himself to be a talented broadcaster.
Student notes
- Studies at Harper Adams University
- Course Agriculture with Farm Business Management
- Study year Fourth
- Fun fact Outside of farming, Ben is a keen football commentator and travelled to Wembley Stadium in May last year to cover the FA Trophy final
Mindset
Ben’s university tutors say he is capable, committed and focused.
This mindset has been instrumental in helping him make the most of his time at Harper Adams, where he studied agriculture with farm business management.
A successful placement year with the Co-op saw Ben lead on several projects to promote British produce, as well as organise training for supermarket colleagues and chair meetings with farmers.
He says this boosted his confidence and increased his industry knowledge.
“It pushed me to see a completely different side of the food chain, which is what I wanted to do, and as a result I’ve learned to produce what people want on the supermarket shelves.”
A meeting with the DPJ Foundation for Co-op farmers to talk about mental health awareness inspired Ben to create the EweTurn podcast with his friends, Ted and Nog.
“It was the best-attended farming group meeting we had in the 12 months I was there, and that was a complete eye-opener to the issues that are out there and how people want to learn more,” he says.
“I came away thinking surely there is more I can do.
“The podcast is a way to get people talking in a light-hearted way – we wanted it to be quite funny so that it wasn’t just talking about mental health, it was keeping it upbeat as well.”
Podcast success
Ben says he has been taken aback by the support for the podcast, The fortnightly episodes are averaging 1,000 listeners and the podcasters hope to hit 50,000 downloads by Christmas.
The judges were impressed with Ben’s ability to juggle his commitments without letting standards slip.
He takes an active role on the 405ha family farm and has helped introduce better yield monitoring for the cereal enterprise.
He has also been a member of Presteigne Young Farmers’ Club (YFC) for the past 10 years, and is set to become its next chairman.
Outside of farming, Ben is a keen football commentator – covering his local club Hereford FC.
This included a trip to Wembley last year to cover the FA Trophy final, which ended in a shock 3-1 win for East London side Hornchurch.
Ben now wants to combine his commentating skills and farming knowledge to become a rural broadcaster.
He is perfectly placed to be one of farming’s most valuable ambassadors.
Winning ways
- Took the initiative to normalise conversations about mental health in farming through the EweTurn podcast, which was set up with friends Ted and Nog
- Successful Co-op placement, which included leading on staff training and chairing farmer meetings
- Incredible work ethic and impressive organisation to juggle commitments without letting standards slip
A word from our independent judge
“Ben impressed us with his enthusiasm for British farming and support for rural communities. His podcast shows what an effective communicator he is – which is an increasingly important skill to help promote our industry.”
Alex Dunn, farm manager
The finalists were:
- Sam Allison, Chichester, Sussex
- Elin Protheroe, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys
The Farmers Weekly 2022 Ag Student of the Year Award is sponsored by Oxbury Bank
Farmers Weekly’s farming awards celebrates the very best of British agriculture by recognising hard-working and innovative farmers across the UK.
Find out more about the Awards, the categories and sponsorship opportunities on our Awards website.