Farmers Weekly Awards 2025: Farm Manager of the Year

Ryan McCormack, Dennington Hall Farms, is Farmers Weekly Farm Manager of the Year

In just over three years, Ryan has made his mark at Dennington Hall Farms, bringing enthusiasm, energy and attention to detail, with environmental stewardship central to the approach.

Working closely with the Rous family, which owns the farm, he has overhauled cropping and machinery, reducing inputs and tillage alongside increasing livestock numbers and cropping diversity, to improve soil, air and water health.

See also: FW Awards: Meet the 2025 Farm Manager of the Year finalists

Innovation and change

In the move from a high-input, intensive approach on heavy clay soils, he introduced a 12-year rotation in 12 blocks.

As well as promoting soil health, this makes for more efficient working of the 310 fields with an average size of 6ha.

Sheep-grazed overwinter cover crops, companion planting and more spring cropping have been introduced, while the farm produced its third harvest for the Wildfarmed brand this year.

Basis and Facts qualified, Ryan has moved to the Omnia digital platform, providing greater visibility for the team and enabling remote logging of operations, also streamlining variable-rate seed and fertiliser.

Business systems have been modernised, with cloud-based accounting and administrative tools enhancing flexibility and efficiency, enabling remote management of invoices, approvals and documents.

A successful recent livestock innovation was the introduction of remote cattle collars for the pedigree Red Poll sucklers, which Ryan converted from the original mixed breed herd.

Keen to add value across all outputs, he began direct sales of meat boxes this year, also supplying restaurants and butcher-ready carcasses. This has increased the profit per animal significantly.

The local marketing ethos extends to crops, with much of the farm’s grain sold through the nearby Framlingham Farmers co-op, consistently achieving £10/t above standard pool averages, using the group’s platform to sell 100t lots on the futures market.

The wider rotation reduces market and now includes mustard for Colman’s.

Malting barley goes to Muntons of Stowmarket, less than 30 minutes away, while beet travels for less than an hour to British Sugar in Bury St Edmunds.

Staff

Ryan has restructured the team, developing a positive culture and a healthier work-life balance.

Weekend work is now on a rota, with operator safety a top priority. There are annual health and safety assessments, risk assessments and training for all staff.

Team members have a monthly one-to one meeting with Ryan, as well as a daily morning meeting.

The introduction of a comprehensive benefits package, teambuilding events and upgraded staff facilities, alongside a prominent social media presence, helps recruitment and retention.  

Ryan’s wider involvement extends well beyond the farming community, where he is on the NFU’s national crops board and is Suffolk Coastal branch chairman.

He hosts extensive Agrovista trials, many farm visits for farming and non-farming interests, including Open Farm Sunday, and is a member of Suffolk Search and Rescue.  

A converted calf shed is now a modern meeting and education centre.

Very active on social media, this year he collaborated with a local school to offer an extended project qualification in social media brand development, working with the students to help them achieve a nationally recognised qualification.

Looking ahead, he has plans for a new grain store and dryer, a dog-walking field and is investigating private funding for soil, air and water management.

What the judges say

“Ryan seeks the best from his team, the land and the market, always with environmental imperatives in mind. He is open and constructive, with a clear grasp of financial management.”