Farmers Weekly Awards 2026: Farmer of the Year
James Chapman © Jason Bye Norfolk arable farmer James Chapman has been crowned Farmers Weekly’s Farmer of the Year 2026.
James’ focus on identifying local business opportunities combined with successfully building a new farmyard within a tight deadline is a credit to his motivation to keep pushing the business forward.
See also: FW Awards 2026: Meet the finalists
His involvement with the wider community is inspiring, working with East Coast Growers and HDC Farming, he is a founder member of the Fleggmart beet lifting co-op and a member of Anglia Pea Growers.
Five things that make James our 2026 Farmer of the Year
- Built showcase farmyard including top notch sprayer filling area within tight deadline
- Working closely with local farmers and businesses
- Achieving consistently high crop yields, even in challenging seasons
- A strong environmental focus and managing sensitive landscapes
- Surrounded by a strong, dedicated team
Locals also benefit with voluntary grass margins doubling up as horse riding routes and permissive footpaths linking rights of way.
On the arable side, James has built a team around him that has the same focus on detail.
Timely cultivations and spraying along with adopting liquid nitrogen and variable rate technology are seeing yields consistently increase year-on-year with wheat now averaging 11-12t/ha, vining peas touching 10t/ha and sugar beet close to 100t/ha.
This is all being achieved while maximising soil health with measures like dual tyres to minimise soil compaction, chopping straw, growing cover crops and a greater use of manures.
James is cutting chemical inputs, one example being beet herbicides through the use of a camera guided mechanical hoe.
The latter is an example of James investing in the farm by utilising funding opportunities, which also includes a rotary cutter to dig foot drains and scrapes on grazing marshes.
However, his biggest investment was the three-year project building a new farmyard, as the original outgrew its location within the village.
This has increased grain storage, which helps with marketing grain, and top notch workshop and sprayer filling facilities.
Being close to the Broads, it was designed with the environment in mind with biobeds treating sprayer washings, rainwater harvesting and solar energy.
The meeting room hosts farm visits by students and adult groups as well being used by other organisations such as the NFU.
Other environmental measures include new hedges, most recently 1,500m in 2025, trees and restoring ponds.
In conclusion, James has secured the long-term future of the family business by investing in a new farmyard, driving up yields and cutting. All while protecting the local unique landscape in this attractive corner of Norfolk.
The Farmers Weekly 2026 Farmer of the Year Award is sponsored by Agrovista
“Agrovista is delighted to congratulate James Chapman on this well-deserved achievement. His dedication, forward-thinking approach and impressive results, achieved while caring for the environment, make him a truly outstanding winner.”
Jodie Champion, head of marketing