Long-serving Farmers Weekly journalist Philip Clarke has been named the 2025 Netherthorpe Communicator of the Year, receiving one of the most prestigious accolades in agricultural journalism.
News and Opinion editor Phil collected his award at the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists’ (BGAJ) annual Harvest Lunch, held at Stationers’ Hall in London on Thursday 9 October.
Now in his 37th year as an agricultural journalist – 32 of them with Farmers Weekly – the judges praised Phil for his “unparalleled commitment to agricultural communications” and his ability to make even the most complex subjects accessible and relevant to readers.
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BGAJ chairman Ben Pike, announcing the award, said: “Phil has the ideal skillset for an agricultural journalist – he’s passionate about the industry, is an instinctive, fluent writer and has an analytical brain.”
“He’s combined the best of traditional journalistic skills with a preparedness to learn new ones and has embraced multimedia and social media.”
Reflecting on his long career, Phil recalled his first day on Big Farm Weekly in 1988, stepping into a smoke-filled newsroom with “clattering typewriters”.
Since then, he said the changes that have occurred have been “immense – both in the subjects that we cover and, more particularly, the methods we use to cover them”.
Phil concluded by affirming his ongoing commitment to Farmers Weekly.
“I still get the same little buzz of excitement when the magazine pops through the letterbox as I did all those years ago.
“As long as I’ve felt that, I’ve known I’ve been in the right job. So I won’t be retiring quite yet.”
Farmers Weekly editor Andrew Meredith congratulated Phil on the “well-deserved recognition”, praising his leadership, calmness under pressure, and skill in developing journalists.
“He’s our longest-serving team member but still goes above and beyond every day for our readers,” he said.
Big day for FW team
The day proved especially successful for the Farmers Weekly team, with several other awards and honours received.
Johann Tasker won Podcast of the Year for the Farmers Weekly podcast, which featured a moving story about Suffolk farmer Stephen Honeywood unveiling a memorial to the crew of a Second World War American Flying Fortress bomber that crashed on his land 80 years ago.
Judges, led by Ben Eagle of RuralPod Media, praised the episode’s innovative use of non-verbal sound and atmosphere.
Johann Tasker (right) collects an award for Podcast of the Year from judge Ben Eagle (left) © BGAJ
“We enjoyed the opening of the piece in particular, which set the tone for the excerpt,” Mr Eagle said.
“The interview with an American family member worked well and the edit was nicely constructed. It was definitely the strongest entry overall.”
Meanwhile, Farmers Weekly staff also earned runner-up honours in two key writing categories.
In the Livestock and Grassland category, Charlie Reeve was runner-up with a practical guide on how to prepare for an Environment Agency inspection.
In the Arable category, Richard Allison claimed the runner-up spot with a piece offering a compelling argument for a biogas alternative.
The 2025 BGAJ Awards once again showcased the breadth of talent within agricultural journalism and communications, with Farmers Weekly continuing to demonstrate its leading role in the industry.