The National Women in Agriculture Awards celebrates women across the UK food and farming industry who are going above and beyond, making things happen and inspiring others in the industry to create change.
The 2026 awards finalists include NFU member Milly Fyfe, NFU member Helen Stainer, NFU Education Manager Jennie Devine and NFU Chief Animal Health and Welfare Adviser Cat McLaughlin.
The awards will be held on Tuesday 5 May in London, with judges including incoming NFU Director General Sophie Throup.
Milly Fyfe
NFU member Milly Fyfe has made the shortlist for Farming Woman of the Year.
A testament to her work, spanning more than 20 years in the industry advocating for change, healthy eating and shoppers learning about and buying more British produce.
She is a member of Ladies in Beef and also the farming representative of the West Northamptonshire Sustainable Food Network.
No stranger to the National Women in Agriculture Awards, Milly was named National Women in Agriculture Ambassador of the Year in 2025.
She was the recipient of the new John Nix Award from the WCF (Worshipful Company of Farmers) that same year.
2025 also saw the launch of Milly’s farmyard classroom The Countryside Kitchen, which offers field-to-fork educational sessions and operates as a not-for-profit CIC (Community Interest Company).
Photograph: The Countryside Kitchen
The mother of two opened up her working farm to bridge the gap between the general public and the food they were eating.
The Countryside Kitchen has already delivered sessions to more than 750 vulnerable adults, children with SEN (Special Educational Needs) and adults recovering from addiction.
She also founded No Fuss Meals For Busy Parents – a website providing parents with inspiration for mealtimes, guidance on seasonal produce and more.
Milly has a habit of seeing where she can inspire and educate and plugging the gap, whether through her work in education, communications or community engagement.
Helen Stanier
NFU member Helen Stanier has been nominated for Farming Woman of the Year.
Helen has served on the NFU National Dairy Board and writes a monthly column for Farmers Guardian called ‘In your field’.
With a keen interest in the Jersey breed, of which she farms a herd of 245 and 200 followers, she is also a member of the National Board for UK Jerseys as well as being the secretary of the North East Jersey Cattle Club.
Helen returned to the family farm after a career in food retail and farms alongside her parents, husband and children.
After overcoming the initial shock of re-entering the industry and with the support of her husband, fifth-generation farmer Helen now manages the farm, which processes the herd’s milk on site.
The farm, Grey Leys Farm in the Vale of York, supplies award-winning Jersey milk to Longley Farm, sells locally via vending machines and through a milkman and wholesale to hotels, farm shops and eating establishments in York and the surrounding area.
The farm is Red Tractor Farm Assured and committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040 – maintaining both high welfare and environment standards.
Her experience working in the supply chain and her participation in the Countryside Fund’s Fresh Start Dairy Academy for industry newcomers led to Helen’s firm belief in creating a more collaborative and supportive dairy industry.
Jennie Devine
Shortlisted for the Training and Education Woman of the Year, NFU Education Manager Jennie Devine is a familiar face to schoolchildren up and down the country.
Former teacher Jennie writes, produces and hosts NFU Education’s live lessons alongside the NFU Education team.
More than 2 million schoolchildren have now tuned in to watch the ever-popular live lessons, which aim to educate and inspire young people through providing a behind-the-scenes insight into the careers, places and animals involved in the sector.
The lessons are curriculum-based and STEM-infused (science, technology, engineering and maths), with many schools coming back time and again.
Teachers are “blown away by the quality of the resources”, as one teacher enthused, and lessons are “pitched perfectly” for the students, who are fully engaged with the lessons.
NFU Education Manager Jennie Devine pictured during NFU Education festive live lessons.
Jennie also co-founded the AgriFuture Programme in partnership with the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society which aims to build a sector in which everyone can belong, thrive and lead.
This project’s goal is to improve the access to and inclusivity of the agricultural sector through a five-year scholarship for young people from racially marginalised communities and the AgriFuture Forum – a groundbreaking event aiming to raise awareness of the barriers to entry in the sector and encourage action to create change.
The AgriFuture Scholarship is currently recruiting for its second cohort of students to take part in a bespoke progamme which includes residential experiences, work experience opportunities and mentoring.
The first cohort of AgriFuture scholars have already taken part in a week-long food and farming residential, gone behind the scenes at LAMMA and completed a day of workshops at Harper Adams University.
Cat McLaughlin
Photograph: Photobanks Ltd.
NFU Chief Animal Health and Welfare Adviser Cat McLaughlin has been shortlisted for the Agricultural Ambassador of the Year.
She joined the NFU in 2006 and her role sees her leading her team in the delivery of animal health and welfare policies, representing and lobbying for the NFU both in high-level forums in the UK and internationally and at a grassroots level among members and the general public.
She is also Chair of EPRUMA (European Platform for the Responsible Using of Medicines in Animals) and a director of AMTRA (Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority).
Her place on the shortlist was in part secured by her contributions to RUMA Agriculture, an organisation she has been a part of for more than a decade, currently acting as a Director.
Cat served as RUMA Agriculture Chair from 2020 until 2026 after working as Deputy Chair.
During her tenure, she helped guide the organisation through the COVID-19 pandemic; bolstered RUMA’s communications and engagement activities, including bringing attention to growing pressures around vaccine and medicine availability; and chaired the exemplary RUMA TTF (Target Task Force), among other achievements.
Before the NFU, Cat worked as Scottish extension officer of the Milk Development Council and Market Information Manager of QMS (Quality Meat Scotland)/Meat and Livestock Commission (Scotland).
She graduated with a degree in Agriculture from the University of Aberdeen, with Honours in Animal Science, and also holds a PG Diploma in Farm Business Organisational Management from the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen.
