A FARMING family based between Falmouth and Helston in Cornwall has scooped a national award for their work.

The Bowden family has been named as the national winner in the Youngstock Producer of the Year category in the ForFarmers Excellence in Farming Awards, as a result of their outstanding approach to heifer rearing on their dairy farm outside of Constantine.

Alec Bowden and his family, from Boswidjack Farm, run high herd health pedigree Holsteins in two herds and rear all their own replacement heifers on site.

Their aim is to produce high quality heifers, ready to calve down on or before 24 months and the judges commended the team on their attention to detail at every stage of the rearing process.

“The Bowdens take heifer rearing seriously, recognising how important healthy replacements are to the future success and advancement of their pedigree herd,” said Peter Whittal-Williams, judge and youngstock specialist for ForFarmers.

“The specialist calf unit has been carefully designed to create the right environment for calves to flourish.

"All aspects of the rearing process, from colostrum management to regular weight monitoring, are carried out to the highest standards.”

Speaking at the ceremony, ForFarmers’ marketing director, Henry Verwaijen, said: “This year’s entries were once again of an extremely high standard, demonstrating many fine examples of forward-thinking, professional farmers within the ForFarmers customer base.

"Every winner should be very proud of their award as there was a wide selection of exceptional nominees in every category.”

The awards ceremony took place at the Farmers Club in London on November 21.