A young North Devon farmer has been shortlisted for a prestigious dairy award.

25-year-old Bex Heywood is one of three in the running for the Women in Dairy Award.

Bex has been instrumental in adding value to her family's farming enterprise in North Devon, where they milk 65 organic cows through a Lely Robot.

When she returned from university in 2019, they realised they would have to expand or add value to what we were already doing.

Just as lockdown began, the family launched their organic milk vending machine to sell a small percentage of their milk directly from the farm, with the rest going to Arla.

Three years later, they now have five smaller machines on local campsites and in shops for the summer season.

They also host school visits to educate students about dairy farming, from grass to glass.

The other two women shortlisted are Gaynor Wellwood and Lianne Farrow.

Along with milking 320 cows with her husband Kieran on a tenanted farm in Leicestershire, Gaynor is instrumental in helping other farmers succeed through her farm business consultant role.

Lianne has come from a non-farming background and, after beginning her farming experience in New Zealand 17 years ago, now heads up the calf rearing at the Downes family farm in Shropshire.

Passionate about dairy farming, Lianne set up the successful Shropshire Women in Dairy Group.

The award will be presented to the individual who has demonstrated the core values of Women in Dairy of connect, share, and inspire.

The winner will be announced on September 28 at the Women in Dairy Conference at Sixways Stadium, Worcestershire.

Women in Dairy is an RABDF initiative, designed to bring women working in the dairy industry together through regional discussion group meetings.