Lymington Growmore Club awards night brings together New Forest farming community

FARMERS and agricultural workers from across the New Forest came together for Lymington Growmore Club’s annual dinner dance and award ceremony.

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of trophies for competitions held last year for the best crops, livestock farmers and agricultural enterprises in the area.

Competition judge Nick Waldon, from Winchester Growmore Club, said it was a delight to be invited to adjudicate over local growers and farmers.

He continued: “It was a very good day. The quality of the livestock was very high and there were some difficult decisions to make.

“We were also very fortunate we also enjoyed a wonderful tour of the Forest.”

Turning to the current state of British farming, Mr Waldon said farmers were enduring financial, climatic, political and environment challenges.

He also asked guests to remember “brother farmers” in Ukraine, adding: “Something in the region of 200,000 cows have been killed by enemy action in Ukraine, vast acreage of farms are now under mines – something we hope we will never see in this country.”

Held at South Lawn Hotel in Milford, around 100 guests enjoyed a three-course meal with locally reared beef carved at the table by club members.

The Lymington-based organisation is one of only a handful of remaining clubs which were originally set up during the Second World War to encourage farmers and producers to work together to feed the nation.

Prize-winners:

• Best short term ley: 3D Farming.
• Best long term ley: Hordle Bridge Farm.
• Best field of wheat: Simeon Morgan.
• Best field of barley: Bisterne Farms.
• Best spring sown arable crop: Simeon Morgan.
• Best field of forage or grain maize: Hordle Bridge Farm (Maize Cup).
• Best sample of malting barley: 3D Farming Partnership.
• Best sample of milling wheat: Bisterne Farms (Norsk Hydro Cup).
• Best made hay: P&L Dunning (Tithe Barn Cup).
• Best made grass silage: Bisterne Farms (Cecil Sutton Cup).
• Best made baled silage: Jayne Pothecary (Baled Silage Shield).
• Best made maize silage: 3D Farming (Maize Shield).
• Best managed in-calf dairy heifers: Bisterne Farms (Taymix Cup).
• Best managed dairy herd: Bisterne Farms (Edgars Dairy Bowl).
• Best beef enterprise: Stuart Morgan (Harry Cobb Cup).
• Best Heifer: Stuart Morgan (Hygienic Dairies Cup).
• Best steer: C. and F. House (John Howlett Club).
• Best quality milk: East Close Farms (awarded the Arthur Rolf challenge cup).
• Best drilled corn: Tom House (Tom Gazzard Cup).
• Best dairy person: James Dunning (Vaccar Cup).
• Best flower garden: Anna Orzech (Perpetual Challenge Cup).
• Best vegetable garden: Brian Ingram (Challenge Cup).
• Best photograph: Paula Button (The Keyhaven Cup).
• Best field of rape: Simeon Morgan (Rape Shield).
• Best rural enterprise: Jayne Pothecary.

• John Hoskinson Cup (for the member who contributed most in the last year): Martin Button.
• Jim Bacon Cup (highest scores in quizzes): Andrew Galloway.
• Snakecatcher Cup (highest score in skittles): Stuart Slocombe.
• Viscountess St Cyrus Cup (most points in grassland classes): ET Farwell and Son.
• Howlett Cup (most points in forage classes): Hordle Bridge Farm.
• Christopher Hill Cup (most points in cereal classes): Simeon Morgan.
• John Edgar Trophy (most points in five nominated classes): Simeon Morgan.
• Arthur Lunt Cup (most points in classes 1-18) Bisterne Farms.