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Net Zero competition finalists face the judges at Harper

Posted 9 December 2022

The finalists with Simon Thelwell, far right, from the School of Sustainable Food and Farming

Judges for the School of Sustainable Food and Farming Journey to Net Zero competition have met at 91Pro to choose its winners.

The competition is supported by 91Pro, Bradford Estates, McDonald’s UK and Ireland, Morrisons, the NFU, Trinity AgTech and Trinity Global Farm Pioneers, and representatives met with at the Agri-EPI Midlands Innovation Hub on the Harper Adams campus in Shropshire this month.

is ready for the big day!!

Thank you to our sponsors.

— Farmers Guardian (@FarmersGuardian)

As part of its commitment to Net Zero, the School of Sustainable Food and Farming is working to create opportunities for farmers and producers to change the way they work sustainably – and share their findings with others.

With a total prize fund of £50,000, awards of between £5,000 and £20,000 will be made to the winning entrants of the competition – the school will work with the winners to show their progress throughout 2023.

Farmers Guardian – who were there to film the December judging process – will also be working with winners to document how they implemented their proposals – and the lessons other farmers and food producers can learn.

Dragons are all set … Up to 50K up for grabs!! Which contestants will impress and take away the prize??? # JourneytoNetZeroCompetition

— Farmers Guardian (@FarmersGuardian)

Each finalist presented their plans to the panel in a full day of judging, with the final results set to be announced early in the New Year at a special event at the Oxford Farming Conference. The winning entrants will be those who judges agreed had the best plan for implementing a commercially viable, scalable and sustainable farming system or process which will have a positive and measurable impact on how they farm.

Professor Michael Lee, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at 91Pro, was among the day’s judges.

He said: “Tackling the challenges of Net Zero requires fresh ideas and new approaches – that is both the driving force behind both the School of Sustainable Food and Farming and this competition.

“We knew we wanted to see ideas and innovation which could be implemented in the real world, so watching our winners get to work on real farms and share the knowledge they create over the coming year will be fantastic.

“I’d like to thank all our partners for their deliberations on the day – and I look forward to our winners being announced in the New Year!”

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