Britain’s Fittest Farmer 2024: Over 40s entries are rolling in

With less than a month to go until the Britain’s Fittest Farmer qualifier events, there is still plenty of time to enter and take part in farming’s biggest physical and mental wellbeing competition.

The first of three qualifier events will be kicking off on 19 June at the Lincolnshire Show, followed by the Royal Highland show on 23 June.

If you can’t make either of these dates, the third and final qualifier will take place at the Royal Welsh Show on 25 July – so, grab your trainers, head to your nearest qualifier location, and bring your friends and family along to support you.

See also: Find out all you need to know about BFF in one place

About the competition

Entries across all four categories – Women under 40, Men under 40, Women over 40 and Men over 40 – have been rolling in, and the competition is open people of all abilities aged 18 or over.

It is a great opportunity to meet other farmers and people that work in the wider industry.

We caught up with some of the men and women entering the over 40s categories – those taking part for the first time, and those that have competed before – to find out how they are preparing for the qualifiers.

Anne Grindal

Juggling work as an equestrian coach and life on the family’s beef and arable farm in Warwickshire, Anne, who is also a mum of two teenage boys, said that exercise is the key to managing her busy lifestyle.

Anne took part in the competition last year, and came second in the mixed over 40s category.

Asked what spurred her to apply again, Anne said: “I’m technically Britain’s second fittest farmer over 40, and I want to try and get to be Britain’s Fittest Farmer over 40!

“To be honest, it’s my competitive nature, and actually it was just really good fun. 

“The whole experience is just brilliant.”

In terms of preparation, Anne said that she tried to do a bit of everything.

This includes a regular bootcamp class in the local village, some weight training and personal trainer sessions in the gym, and even a recent triathlon..

“It’s a real mixture – I try to do anything I can. I definitely try and keep on top of weights, because I really enjoy doing them.”

Nick Haines

Staffordshire dairy farmer Nick took part in the competition for the first time last year, and will be returning again in June.

When he’s not milking his 400 spring-calving cows, Nick tries to make time to get to the gym.

“I admit, with calving, it has been very difficult to get into the gym this spring. Generally, I’d go three or four times a week,” he explained.

Nick said that general farm work also keeps him fit, as he regularly clocks up over 20,000 steps per day.

Now that calving is out the way, he is back to training regularly and will be stepping up in preparation for the Royal Highland Show qualifier.

Him and his wife are looking forward to exploring the venue after the competition.

Fiona Penfold

Beef farmer Fiona Penfold farms near Bristol on her family farm, and has recently finished a busy calving period.

No stranger to the Britain’s Fittest Farmer competition, Fiona competed and took home first place in 2019.

Keen rugby player Fiona recently suffered a knee injury while playing, so she is now stepping away from the sport to pursue other fitness challenges.

“I need something to motivate myself, and I really enjoyed Britain’s Fittest Farmer. It doesn’t matter how I do – I’m competitive, but I just enjoy it for meeting other farmers,” she said.

“I rely heavily on exercise for my mental health. I just know that it is a massive contributing factor, and if I don’t do something I feel a bit rubbish.

“I thought it would be nice to do it again and just have a bit of fun. The community element of the competition is what I enjoyed most the first time I took part.”

Fiona will be attending the Royal Welsh Show qualifier on 25 July.

James Hopperton

James, who works on his family’s mixed beef and arable enterprise in Cambridgeshire, is hoping to take part in Britain’s Fittest Farmer for the first time this year, at the Lincolnshire showground.

James said that the timing of the qualifier works well before harvesting the farm’s wheat, barley and beans starts in earnest.

At the moment, his regime includes more “weight-based gym stuff”, but James has formerly enjoyed running.  

“I got into the weight training because that helps my bad back. I would love to do more cycling, but it’s finding the time at the moment,” he explained.

Asked whether exercise helps with maintaining a positive mindset, James said: “I think it does, definitely.

“Luckily where we live, we are not too remote, but even so when you are working by yourself, you need things like this. I try to exercise with other people sometimes, and it helps enormously.”