Three Powys farmers have been named the best farmers in the country at the Farmers Weekly Awards 2018.

Adfa sheep farmers John and Sarah Yeomans were awarded the Sheep Farmers of the Year award, and farm vet Oliver Hodgkinson from Montgomery was named Farm Adviser of the Year at a glittering awards night on London's Park Lane.

The biggest night in the farming calendar recognises and rewards farmers from across the country for innovation, commitment to the industry and hard work.

John and Sarah Yeomans, of Llwyn y Brain, were praised by the judges for not being afraid to challenge convention and address challenges head on by maximising grass output on challenging hill ground at their mixed Welsh hill farm.

Their progressive attitude has helped them make a profit from their traditional flock of performance-recorded Beulahs.

Host Gyles Brandreth with winner of the Sheep Farmer of the Year award John Yeomans, Karl Schneider, Farmers Weekly editor, and Sam Borrow of NSF International. (Edward Bruce-Radcliffe)

Sarah plays a pivotal role running a local farming discussion and training group and John has undertaken a Nuffield scholarship championing the need for alternative lamb grading methods.

The Yeomans' role as stalwarts in the farming community – hosting discussion groups, acting as mentors and sitting on various boards - and constantly seeking to improve how they farm impressed the awards panel.

John Vipond, judge, said: “It’s hard to miss the land farmed by John and Sarah – it’s been developed and nurtured. Their sheep stand out on looks and figures but it’s the drive, enthusiasm and personality that sets this couple apart in the sheep farming world. It is this that makes them winners.”

Gyles Brandreth with winner of the Farm Adviser of the Year award Oliver Hodgkinson, Karl Schneider and Bruce Morton of sponsors Arysta LifeScience. (Edward Bruce-Radcliffe)

Oliver Hodgkinson of Trefaldwyn Vets is a farm vet with 200 beef, sheep and dairy clients across Montgomeryshire.

He is moving away from being reliant on medicine sales to focussing on providing herd and flock health planning to improve welfare standards.

The health planning Oliver is providing his clients is making a real difference, ensuring profitable businesses are being built on a foundation of good husbandry.

But it is not just his clients that are benefitting for Oliver’s passion and expertise, through his work with BVD Free, Oliver is helping affect change across the whole industry.

Oliver impressed the judges with his desire to bring standards of farming up through easy, low-cost changes such as calf jackets and cubicles, collecting and tracking data to inform health decisions on the farm, and uses a monthly newsletter to highlight current health issues and champion best practice.

“Oliver’s commitment and dedication to the health, welfare and productivity of his clients’ livestock shone through – from his attention to detail combined with holistic thinking about the whole farm," Paul Wilson, judge and Professor of Agricultural Economics at University of Nottingham, said.

Writer, broadcaster, and former Conservative Member of Parliament Gyles Brandreth presented the fourteenth annual Farmers Weekly Awards in front of more than 1,000 guests at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Thursday evening.

The award - a distinctive, round, yellow wall plaque - has become a symbol of the innovation and achievements of more than 500 outstanding farmers since the awards were launched 15 years ago.