James Metcalfe with vet Mark Marcello from LLM Farm Vets Derbyshire
Peak District Farm Wins VetPartners Sustainable Farming Environmental Impact Award
2 weeks ago 
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A THIRD-generation farmer managing a National Trust farm in the Peak District has won the 2026 VetPartners Sustainable Farming Environmental Impact Award for championing biodiversity and sustainable livestock production.
James Metcalfe, from Hardenclough Farm at the base of Mam Tor, was chosen as the award winner due to its efforts to improve grassland management and livestock efficiency while reducing its environmental impact and enhancing biodiversity.
The accolade recognises farmers who are leading the way in biodiversity, emissions reduction, regenerative agriculture, or sustainable land management.
It is one of four awards launched in 2025 by VetPartners – a group led by vets which owns some of the most respected and trusted veterinary practices and animal healthcare businesses across the UK and Europe – to celebrate farmers who are making a difference to both animal health and reducing the environmental impact of production.
Spanning 350 acres in the heart of the Peak District National Park, the farm is home to around 470 pedigree North Country Cheviot ewes and 15 pedigree Luing cows.
James said: “We’re trying to reduce pressure on the land and give plants a better chance to flower and seed by changing the way we graze livestock on the hill, and we’re looking at where trees and hedges can add value to support wildlife in the area.
“For me, the key thing is that you’ve got to make the farming work alongside the environment. You’ve got to do both things together.”
Mark Marcello from LLM Farm Vets Derbyshire, who nominated the farm for the award, said: “The farm works alongside the National Trust and Natural England to manage land with agroecology sustainability goals in mind, the results of which can be seen in the increased biodiversity in key areas.
“They’ve also made changes to improve how their livestock system can work with nature, transitioning to a hardy hill-type Cheviot sheep which are smaller and better suited to the available grazing.”
The runner-up for the award was Greentree Farm in Staffordshire, a dairy enterprise home to just over 200 milking cows, and around 150 youngstock.
Farmer Peter Woodward said that by focusing on healthy soils, herbal leys and lower inputs, they’re seeing benefits in their forage, cows and the wildlife around them.
Farm vet Isobel Johnston from Willows Farm Vets in Cheshire nominated Greentree Farm for the farm’s holistic mindset, which has helped it to improve the quality of the soil to provide better quality forage, resulting in healthier cows and a reduction in clinical mastitis cases in the herd.
The highly commended farm in the awards was Kilburn Farm, a 690-acre upland dairy and beef enterprise in Neilston, Renfrewshire, run by Alex Scott and nominated by Andrew Doull, a farm vet at Abbey Vet Group in Paisley and Greenock.
Following the success of the inaugural year in 2025, this year’s sustainable farming awards continue to go from strength to strength, with high numbers of farm vets across the country taking the opportunity to nominate their clients in recognition of their efforts to improve animal health and environmental stewardship.
VetPartners farm director Ian Cure praised the farms and said all were highly deserving environmental champions.
Mr Cure said: “Farmers are already doing a huge amount, often quietly and consistently, to make their businesses more efficient and environmentally responsible. Working closely with their vets is a key part of that progress, because healthy animals are more productive, require fewer interventions and make better use of feed, land and other resources.
“The action taken by these farms are not only good for their sustainability in terms of animal welfare and business performance but also because they are reducing environmental impact of their farming operations.”
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