Chris Greenaway was 1 of 4 finalists for the British Farming Awards' 2024 Arable Farmer of the Year. The finalists were selected because the judges recognized their ongoing versatility and ability to navigate fluctuating commodity prices, unpredictable weather and evolving legislation, while continuing to achieve a profitable, sustainable business.

Chris Greenaway works at Garnstone Farms, a 880 Hectare (2,174 acres) Monitor Farm, alongside its owner, James Verdin. The farm has a diverse offering including poultry, forestry, property, anaerobic digestion, beef and arable, with the arable side of the business including wheat, herbage seed, maize, whole crop, oil seed rape (OSR), beans and land let for tender stem broccoli. Chris takes charge of day-to-day decision making and forward planning decisions for the arable and beef side of the business, aiming to empower staff with quick decision making that requires initiative.

The farm operates a strip-till with inter-row companion crops drilled at 600mm (23.4 inches) spacings, with the maize using liquid starter fertilizer to improve growing rates. With the help of grants for machinery and equipment the crops are now variable rate N, resulting in improved crop yields in a cost-effective manner. In order to reduce damage from cabbage stem flee beetle (CSFB), Chris plants a companion crop before the OSR, this acts as a trap crop, which is destroyed along side the CSFB eggs and larvae.

Improving farm efficiency and enhancing timelines has been a focus for Chris, implementing numerous actions to achieve this, including improving the farm's soil structure and the rotation which has allowed time for other aspects of the business. A new grain store has been built to improve crop drying and storage, with double mowers for herbage seed and tedders increasing harvesting speed, with a larger grain bucket advancing grain lorry loading timeliness. He has also introduced staff appraisals to encourage participation in business and personal development.

Moving forward Chris hopes to utilize the Sustainable Farming Incentive as much as possible, viewing it as an opportunity not an obstacle for business success, with income from the Basic Payment Scheme and stewardship being more than 2020, albeit before the decline of BPS.

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