Calf Rearer of the Year

Entries are open for this year’s Calf Rearer of the Year award, which recognises and rewards the industry’s top talent and dedication to youngstock management.

This award, which is now in its second year, is sponsored by Wynnstay and will be presented at the 2025 National Youngstock Conference, on July 16, at Birmingham’s National Conference Centre.

The annual competition aims to promote and raise awareness of best practice among calf rearers, particularly the younger generation of dairy and beef producers who are typically tasked with looking after calves and youngstock on farm. And the winner will scoop the top prize of £250.

Anyone responsible for working with youngstock on dairy or beef units can enter, or be nominated for the award by an employer, colleague or peer, a vet, farm consultant or supplier. To enter is simple. There’s a short questionnaire and entrants must state, in just 100 words or less, why they, or the person they are putting forward for the award, should be shortlisted. Entrants can also submit a short five minute video of themselves and their calf-rearing system, if they wish. But this is not obligatory.

“We decided to set up the award to recognise and reward people working in calf-rearing enterprises – both beef and dairy,” says Wynnstay’s calf and youngstock specialist Hannah Padfield. “These skilled team members can sometimes be overlooked on farm, but they are integral to the continued success of the business. Strong, healthy and well grown calves and youngstock are key to efficient meat and milk production. So it’s vital that those looking after the calves get them off to the best start.“

Successful calf and youngstock rearing requires skill, dedication and hard work,” she says. “It’s not a job to be rushed if it’s to be done well. Excellent organisational and management skills are needed, and the commitment to draw up and follow strict protocols are key to calf-rearing success.”

CowManagement’s National Youngstock Conference, now in its fourth year, provides the perfect arena to present the award, and the team behind the organising the one-day event, including vet Tim Potter and CowManagement editor Rachael Porter, will also help to judge competition entrants.

The award is open now for entries. Simply click here to fill out the entry form. Closing date is May 30, 2025. Good luck!

Cornwall-based producer Andrea Semmens was presented with the inaugural Calf Rearer of the Year 2024 award at last year’s National Youngstock Conference, held at Sandy Park in Exeter.

Andrea is responsible for calf rearing at Raftra Farm, in St Levan, and, since joining her husband to farm full-time after a successful career as an analytical chemist, she has overhauled the family unit’s calf-rearing protocols with huge success in the space of just two years.

As head calf rearer, she manages the heifers that are retained as replacements for the business’s 225-cow Holstein Friesian herd. She also rears beef calves produced from cows that are served with British Blue semen or put to the unit’s Hereford bull.

Working with the herd’s vet, she identified key priorities for improvements and was quick to address the most pressing issues, and longer-term challenges.

Andrea’s entry stood out for myriad reasons, and the judges were unanimous in their decision to award her with the top prize of £250.

The judges were particularly impressed by her ‘roots up’ approach to reviewing processes on farm, which involved vet and nutritionist expertise, as well as implementing clear and measurable actions, seeking out funding to support any upgrades and improvements to facilities, and her exploration of public engagement.

Andrea said she was thrilled to be named CowManagement’s Calf Rearer of the Year. “I am shocked because you don’t expect to be nominated, let alone win,” she said. “We have achieved a lot in a short space of time, and it feels great to win and for our success to be recognised.

“I’m really proud of what has been achieved. There was a lot to take home from the conference and to share with the team – including this award.”