Farmers Weekly Awards 2025: Environmental Champion of the Year
Jonathan Chapman, Environmental Champion of the Year 2025 © Emily Fleur Jonathan Chapman of Atlantic Angus, Cornwall is Farmers Weekly Awards 2025 Environmental Champion of the Year.
Beef gets a bad name among environmentalists, but Cornish beef farmer Jonathan Chapman is proving it can deliver major benefits for nature. Â
Farming with his wife Judith, he runs a 210-cow pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd on a system that protects soils, boosts biodiversity, and delivers profit.
See also:Â FW Awards: Meet the 2025 Environmental Champion finalists
“We believe that productive farming and environmental stewardship go hand-in-hand, and our whole system is designed to protect and enhance the natural resources we rely on,” says Jonathan.
Farm facts
- Farming 240ha owned and 110ha rented land
- Running 210 Aberdeen Angus pedigree cows plus 450 followers
- Operating a forage-based, commercial system
- Participating in Countryside Stewardship/SFI
His philosophy is simple: low-input, not no-input.
Cows calve indoors in a tight block from March and graze herbal leys for 10 months. Half the herd is outwintered on a 121ha free-draining tenancy, reducing housing costs.
The business is signed up to Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive. Jonathan has planted 10ha of winter bird plots to create habitat corridors and moved to direct drilling to protect soils. Â
Vast areas of multispecies leys and red clover have help improved plant rooting depth, soil structure and drought tolerance.
These swards consistently yield over 10t/h of dry matter with light spring dressings of 40-50kg/ha of nitrogen.
Productivity is uncompromised. Calves are weaned at 200 days, averaging 45% of mature cow bodyweight (600kg) entirely off grass, with the best cows achieving 60%.
Carbon is being measured through Farm Net Zero, Cornwall, and the AHDB’s Environment Baselining Pilot, with preliminary data showing sequestration of 22t/ha of carbon a year.
Jonathan is ahead of the curve on carbon credits, having signed a five-year deal with grazing technology firm Ruumi, which will reward him for sequestration gains and reduced fertiliser use.Â
As a vet, he has built a herd health plan with nature at its core: preventative vaccination takes a front seat while fly control chemicals and Ivermectin have been phased out to protect dung beetles.
Jonathan summarises: “We are farming in a way that protects the landscape for future generations.”
Five things that make Jonathan our 2025 Environmental Champion
- 1. Ahead of the game on measuring carbon sequestration
- 2. Productive system with minimal inputs
- 3. Herd health supporting nature
- 4. Forward thinking – already taking advantage of carbon credit opportunities
- 5. Integrating pasture, woodland and hedges to enhance species diversity
The other finalists:
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Ollie Blackburn, Dillington Farms, SomersetÂ
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Stephen and Karen Thompson, Povey Farm, DerbyshireÂ
A word from our sponsor
“OMEX congratulates Jonathan Chapman, winner of the 2025 Farmers Weekly Environmental Award. His ethos reflects OMEX’s mantra of responsible fertiliser use and commitment to sustainable food production. Jonathan’s work proves agriculture, and the environment can thrive together through innovation, knowledge-sharing, and a shared purpose.”