(Image: Mark Gibson)
A Perthshire farming business has been named the outstanding winner at the 2026 Scottish Agriculture Awards, after judges praised its combination of farming skill, innovation, commercial success and attention to detail.
Hays Farms, based at Easter Rhynd near Perth and run by David Hay and Finlay Hay, won Arable Farm of the Year sponsored by SoilEssentials before being selected from all the category winners for the overall Champion of Champions title sponsored by headline partner Virgin Money.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 were held in Glasgow on Thursday night (Image: Mark Gibson)
The business grows cereals, oilseed rape, potatoes, peas and other crops across owned, tenanted and contract-farmed land, using soil sampling, conductivity scanning, variable-rate applications, GPS, yield and margin mapping and digital crop recording to guide management decisions. Grain is dried, processed and stored at Easter Rhynd, while the business has also experimented with crops including honeyberries, apples and flax.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 were held in Glasgow on Thursday night (Image: Mark Gibson)
Judges said the overall award had been particularly difficult to decide, with category winners representing businesses and individuals from across Scottish agriculture.
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The awards, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Glasgow, are presented in partnership with AgriScot, NFU Scotland and The Herald's sister publication The Scottish Farmer, with Virgin Money as headline sponsor.
Among the livestock winners was Girvan Mains Farm, run by James Young and David Young, which took Scotch Beef Farm of the Year. The business combines a substantial suckler herd with an intensive finishing enterprise, using electronic identification, regular weighing and farm management software to monitor performance.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 were held in Glasgow on Thursday night (Image: Mark Gibson)
Sheep Farm of the Year sponsored by Harbro went to Hattonknowe Farm, near Eddleston in Peeblesshire, where John Smellie and Adam Smellie manage a family beef and sheep enterprise. Its sheep system includes Scotch Mule, Texel Mule and Blackface ewes, with performance monitored through weighing, scanning and flock-health programmes.
Smallholmburn Farm, near Lockerbie, won Dairy Farm of the Year sponsored by GEA. Run by Mark Stewart, it combines a housed dairy herd with beef cattle, genomic breeding and a feeding system based on maize silage, grass, wholecrop and a premix blend.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 were held in Glasgow on Thursday night (Image: Mark Gibson)
Mixed Farm of the Year sponsored by Thorntons Law LLP went to CJ Grant & Partner Ltd, run by Craig Grant and Claire Grant near Strichen in Aberdeenshire. The business combines arable, cattle, sheep and poultry production with contracting, and uses home-grown barley, wheat and beans within livestock diets.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 were held in Glasgow on Thursday night (Image: Mark Gibson)
In East Ayrshire, David Cooper and Cora Cooper of Cooper Farms at Tardoes Farm won Sustainable Farm of the Year for their low-input hill sheep enterprise, which combines pasture-based production with peatland and former opencast land restoration.
Diversified Farm of the Year sponsored by Virgin Money was won by Lindores - A Rural Destination To Connect at Braeside of Lindores in North Fife. The third-generation family farm combines barley, sheep and cattle with accommodation, equestrian activities, hospitality and bonded whisky cask storage.
The Orkney-based J & S Hay took Contractor of the Year sponsored by New Holland. The third-generation family business operates its own livestock and arable farm alongside contracting services ranging from ploughing to harvest.
Other winners included Laura Grieve of AgriRural Consulting as Adviser of the Year sponsored by Glass Grain and Kilwaughter Lime; Ark Vet Centre, a mixed veterinary practice in Dumfriesshire, as Animal Health Provider of the Year; and Bryson Tractors Ltd, which operates from depots in Lanark and Ayrshire, as Machinery Dealer of the Year.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 were held in Glasgow on Thursday night (Image: Mark Gibson)
Fullwoodhead Dairy Supplies, a family-owned dairy engineering business serving farms across Scotland and northern England, was named Supplier of the Year sponsored by rhass, while David Campbell, a dairy farmer in Ayrshire who has helped develop his family's farming business and bring previously neglected land back into production, received the Farming's Future Award sponsored by NFU Scotland.
The Unsung Hero award, sponsored by United Auctions, went to Argyllshire based livestock haulier Ian Murrie, while the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jack Lawson, FRAgS for this work in the dairy sector.
The awards also offered a platform for the announcement of the SAYFC Young Farmer of the Year award, sponsored by ATV Services and supported by Galbraith. Decided only on the day of the awards, this was won by Ross Campbell of Machars YFC, with Harry Neill of Ednam YFC taking second place and Euan MacRae of Vale of Alford YFC placing third.
The event was supported by John Scott Meat, a Paisley based supplier who provided the evening meal Scotch beef, along with Chivas Brothers who provided winners with The Glenlivet 18 years, Morningside Rural Consultants, and Barclays.
Scottish Agriculture Awards 2026 full list of winners:
ADVISER OF THE YEAR sponsored by Glasson Fertilisers and Kilwaughter Lime • Laura Grieve, Agri Rural Consulting
ANIMAL HEALTH PROVIDER OF THE YEAR • Ark Vet Centre
CONTRACTOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by New Holland • J & S Hay
MACHINERY DEALER OF THE YEAR • Bryson Tractors Ltd
SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR sponsored by RHASS • FullwoodHead Dairy Supplies
FARMING’S FUTURE AWARD sponsored by NFU Scotland • David Campbell
ARABLE FARM OF THE YEAR sponsored by SoilEssentials • Hays Farms
DAIRY FARM OF THE YEAR sponsored by GEA • Smallholmburn Farm
DIVERSIFIED FARM OF THE YEAR sponsored by Virgin Money • Lindores - A Rural Destination To Connect
MIXED FARM OF THE YEAR sponsored by Thorntons • CJ Grant & Partner Ltd
SCOTCH BEEF FARM OF THE YEAR • Girvan Mains Farm
SHEEP FARM OF THE YEAR sponsored by Harbro • Hattonknowe Farm
SUSTAINABLE FARM OF THE YEAR • Cooper Farms
UNSUNG HERO sponsored by United Auctions • Ian Murrie
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS 2026 sponsored by Virgin Money • Hays Farms
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD • Jack Lawson, FRAg