Lord Hertford wins prestigious RASE 2024 Bledisloe Gold Medal
The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) have awarded the prestigious 2024 Bledisloe Gold Medal, sponsored by Burges Salmon, to Lord Hertford for his outstanding achievements in the successful land management and development of The Ragley Estate in Warwickshire.
The RASE Bledisloe Gold Medal was gifted to the society by Viscount Bledisloe on his 90th birthday in 1957. It was originally awarded to a landowner who achieved outstanding service in encouraging the application of science and technology to some branch of British husbandry. It is now awarded to a landowner who demonstrates outstanding achievement in the successful land management and development of an agricultural estate in England and is the most prestigious award that can be bestowed on a landowner.
The judges commented that “Lord Hertford has led his team at Ragley with a clear objective of developing long term, financially successful businesses across the estate, with a focus on the environment and community at the heart. This is a business which feels like part of a family, and to quote Lord Hertford himself, “We do what we can, to the very best that we can do it”.
Ragley is an excellent demonstration of a driven and focused estate.”
The winners were announced at the annual RASE Awards Day on Thursday 12th September, which took place at Courteenhall Estate in Northamptonshire.
During the judges’ visit to Ragley earlier this year, they were able to see how the estate delivers on its core values – sustainability, investment and innovation, education and environmental stewardship – whilst celebrating, respecting and maintaining Ragley’s architectural and landscape heritage. These values are evident across all of the Estate’s interests – park events, weddings, filming & photoshoots, farming, woodland, property & holiday lets, and retail butchery.
Recent winners of the Bledisloe Gold Medal include Dr Johnny Wake of Courteenhall Estate, Her Majesty the Queen for the management of her Sandringham and Windsor Estates (2022) and Sir Nicholas Bacon of Raveningham Estate (2021).
David Grint, CEO at RASE, shares that the winners of the 2024 RASE Awards demonstrate the breadth of forms that effective leadership can take.
“From being willing to implement a novel approach on-farm and openly sharing learnings with peers, right through to speaking up for agriculture in policy and supply chain settings, each of the 2024 winners are exemplary leaders in their own right,” he says.
Five other members of the agricultural community have also received awards from the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE), in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the agricultural industry through leadership, spearheading innovation and through demonstration of best practice:
- The National Agricultural Award, which is sponsored by Savills, was presented to Baroness Minette Batters, in recognition of her leadership as president of the NFU from 2018 to February 2024.
- David Miller, farm manager at Wheatsheaf Farming in Hampshire, received the Excellence in Practical Farming award in recognition of his pioneering approach to improving soil health, which began with trialling cover cropping in 2010. This award is sponsored by Trinity AgTech.
- Dr. Simon Griffiths from the John Innes Centre received the Science & Technology Award, in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of wheat research. This award is sponsored by Future Biogas.
- David Brass of the Lakes Free Range Egg Company won the Farm of the Future Award, in recognition of how he has demonstrated that care for the environment and adoption of new technology can work together to improve both productivity and welfare. This award is sponsored by The Crown Estate.
- Angus Gowthorpe won the Natural Capital Award, in recognition of how he has successfully built a farming operation that is not only environmentally restorative but also economically resilient. This award, which is new for 2024, is supported by the Trinity Natural Capital Pro Council.