South Devon Members Make Up Half of Beef Farmer of the Year Finalists

The South Devon Herd Book Society is delighted to congratulate members Alex and Gemma Sell and Charles Grisedale, who have both been named as finalists for the 2026 British Farming Awards Beef Farmer of the Year.

With just four beef businesses shortlisted nationally, it is a fantastic achievement to see two South Devon members making up half of this year’s finalists.

Hosted by Farmers Guardian, the British Farming Awards celebrate some of the very best farmers and farming businesses from across the country, with the Beef Farmer of the Year category recognising businesses demonstrating excellent stockmanship alongside efficiency, productivity, profitability and sustainable farming practices.

Perhaps most excitingly for the Society, the two shortlisted businesses demonstrate just how adaptable the South Devon can be, with the breed playing an important role in two very different farming systems.

Alex and Gemma Sell – making the marshes work

Alex and Gemma Sell farm at Marsh Farm near Basildon in Essex, where their cattle graze around 1,850 acres of marshland, much of it tenanted, including land belonging to the RSPB and Essex Wildlife Trust.

Their suckler herd numbers more than 150 head and is predominantly South Devon, with the cattle playing an integral role in managing the marshes for birds and other wildlife.

It isn’t easy ground. The grazing is relatively poor quality, but the Sells have developed a low-input system which makes the most of the South Devon’s ability to thrive from forage.

The cattle extensively graze the marshes for nine to ten months of the year, with cows receiving no supplementary feed while grazing and no concentrates. During the two or three winter months they are housed on straw and fed grass silage.

The aim is straightforward – to produce a hardy suckler cow capable of converting marsh grass into a well-grown calf, with minimal intervention and an easy-working temperament.

And the figures show the system is performing.

In 2023, calves sold at six to eight months saw heifers average £822.23 per head, while steers averaged £860 per head, with progeny sold through Ashford Market and regularly topping the market.

The business has spring and autumn-calving herds, with South Devon, Salers and Limousin bulls used. There are also plans to expand to 200 spring-calving South Devon sucklers.

It is a fantastic example of South Devon genetics being used within an extensive commercial system – producing saleable kilos from challenging grazing while cattle simultaneously perform an important environmental role.

Charles Grisedale – grass-fed beef and conservation in Wales

Several hundred miles away in the Welsh countryside, fellow finalist Charles Grisedale has developed another impressive grass-based South Devon enterprise.

Charles’ herd at Cefyngwyn Hall will already be familiar to many Society members, having taken the title of 2024 National Herd Competition winner.

His herd of around 55 cows plus youngstock grazes approximately 200 acres, with the cattle entirely grass-fed and the beef marketed through Charles’ own meat-box business. With a chiller and cutting room on farm, he has developed a system which takes his South Devon beef right through from pasture to the customer.

Charles’ South Devon story began almost by accident. Having previously kept Continental suckler cows, he attended a South Devon sale in Bristol and was immediately impressed by the cattle’s docility and commercial attributes.

What started with that visit has developed into an outstanding herd built around profitability, functionality and producing high-quality beef from grass.

The cattle are also an important part of a wider environmental story at Cefyngwyn Hall.

Charles has undertaken significant conservation work to encourage lapwings and other red-listed species. A large predator-proof boundary fence helps protect nesting lapwings from foxes and badgers, while the grazing cattle help create and maintain the habitat in which wildlife can flourish.

Visitors to the Society’s National Herd Competition Open Day saw first-hand a remarkably consistent herd, with good feet, strong toplines and the quiet temperament for which the breed is renowned.

Charles’ attention to detail is equally evident behind the scenes, with individual cow characteristics, breeding information and weights carefully recorded to inform future breeding decisions.

His goal remains refreshingly simple: grass-fed, happy animals producing exceptional beef.

Two businesses, one remarkably adaptable breed

What makes these two nominations particularly exciting is not simply that both are South Devon members, but how differently they are using the breed.

In Essex, South Devon cows are converting extensive marsh grazing into valuable suckled calves while helping manage environmentally important land.

In Wales, they are at the heart of a grass-fed, direct-to-consumer beef business working alongside an ambitious conservation programme.

Different landscapes. Different markets. Different farming systems.

But in both, the same South Devon qualities come to the fore – maternal ability, docility, performance from forage, ease of management and the ability to produce quality beef efficiently.

For two Society members to feature among only four finalists nationally is a tremendous achievement and a fantastic endorsement of the businesses they have built.

The Society would like to congratulate Alex and Gemma Sell and Charles Grisedale on their nominations and wish them the very best of luck when the winners are announced at the British Farming Awards at The Vox, Birmingham, on 15 October 2026.

Whatever the final result, having South Devon members account for half of the Beef Farmer of the Year shortlist certainly gives us plenty to celebrate.