Two of the UK’s most forward-thinking arable farmers — Tim Lamyman of Worlaby Farms and Richard Budd of Stevens Farm (Hawkhurst) — have been recognised as Innovators of the Year at the 2025 Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) Awards, announced at this year’s YEN conference. The biennial awards celebrate cutting-edge agronomic practice, data-driven decision-making and yield-boosting innovation across cereal and oilseed crops.
Tim Lamyman: Pushing Boundaries with World-Record OSR Yield
Lincolnshire-based farmer Tim Lamyman claimed Gold in the Best Oilseed Rape Yield category with a remarkable 7.71 t/ha, setting a new world record for oilseed rape under YEN competition conditions despite one of the driest growing seasons on record.
Lamyman credits his success to an innovative agronomy programme that emphasises early crop nutrition, deep rooting and extended canopy life — key factors in maximising light interception and biomass generation even under environmental stress. His approach combines strategic drilling dates, advanced foliar nutritional applications and meticulous canopy management to sustain vigorous growth through to harvest.
“It was unbelievable just how green the canopy stayed,” Lamyman said of his record-yielding crop, underscoring the role of careful nutrition and root development in achieving breakthrough performance.
Beyond his yield victory, Lamyman’s continued use of data, observational trials and adaptive strategies in farm management earned him a place among this year’s leading innovators — recognised by YEN judges for setting new benchmarks in agronomic practice.
Richard Budd: Data-Led Strategies and Sustainable Yield Gains
Also honoured as a YEN Innovator of the Year, Richard Budd of Kent’s Stevens Farm was singled out for his innovative use of data and trials to refine nutrient management and crop performance across diverse soils and rotations.
Budd achieved Silver in the oilseed rape yield category with a 7.61 t/ha crop — just behind Lamyman — and also featured prominently in Best % of Potential and bean yield stability categories, highlighting the consistency of his approaches under variable conditions.
A long-standing participant in YEN benchmarking, Budd credits national benchmarking and data exchange through the network with sharpening his understanding of what works where and why. “You won’t find an analysis service like it,” he said in a previous profile on his farming philosophy.
His practical optimisation of seed rates, rotational design and data-driven decision-making has helped Stevens Farm maintaincompetitive yields while balancing input costs — a model of efficiency as well as innovation.
Legacy and Future of YEN Innovation
While this year’s awards marked the end of the Cereal and Oilseeds YEN programme due to changes in sponsorship and facilitation, organisers and winners alike emphasised the enduring value of the network’s data-centric culture and peer-driven innovation in UK arable farming.
Lamyman and Budd’s achievements stand as testament to how rigorous trialling, adaptive management and smart, evidence-based agronomy continue to drive performance gains on British farms, even as climatic and economic pressures intensify.
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