The writing talents of four British agricultural journalists was recognised and celebrated at this year’s Power on the Farm award luncheon.

Now in its 44th year, the Power on the Farm award is run by Perkins in conjunction with the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists (BGAJ) and recognises the journalistic talents of the Guild’s members.

This year’s competition entries featured a range of articles on a ‘power’ related theme, which were published between January 1 and December 31, 2015.

The judging panel of Perkins Ag Sales Manager, Andrew Curtis; International Federation of Agricultural Journalists treasurer Adrian Bell and last year’s winner and BGAJ member, David Cousins, were this year tasked with selecting the best four articles from a strong entry field.

Olivia Cooper, a previous winner of the Power on the Farm award, took the top prize of £2,000 for her article on “Feed automation improves efficiency of Holstein herd”. Published in Farmers Guardian, judges considered it to be an informative and balanced article about the experience of the first farmer in the UK to use this new technology.Perkins Ag sales manager Andrew Curtis presents first prize to Olivia Cooper, our 2016 winner of the Power on the Farm award

Second prize was awarded to Andrew Blake, whose “Optimum tillage recipe unearthed” article published in Tillage magazine, was described as a piece that provided readers with a good insight into how a combination of cultivation techniques and other farming methods helped a Cotswold grower make the best of his thin soils. As runner-up, Andrew received £1,000.

Keen to recognise the contribution that journalists make to promoting agricultural innovation and the sector as a whole, Perkins introduced two additional prizes this year.

Due to the quality of the entries submitted, the judges selected two third prize winners in James Andrews and Nick Fone, each of who received £750.

Published in Farmers Weekly, James’ “Finely Tuned” article was a detailed piece which presented the facts on tractor tuning from all sides of the argument. The article enabled leading tuning companies, tractor manufacturers, dealers and an insurer, to present their side of the story and featured a short opinion piece.

Nick’s article published in Crop Production Magazine titled “No-till turn proves a soil saviour” was described as a robust, fact-filled and attractively written article about a well-known pioneer of the low-till movement. The article was a captivating walk through no-till in the UK, combined with overseas expertise and focused on a new drill.

This year’s award luncheon was held at The Ivy in London and followed a cooking experience at the School of Wok with renowned chef Jeremy Pang.