Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s Principal Farm Advisor, Alison Cross, has won the title of Arable Farm Advisor of the Year in the 2019 Farmers Weekly Awards.

Alison’s success is an encouraging sign of the growing awareness around farming’s role in addressing environmental challenges, and a great accolade for her and the Trust.

The winners were decided by an expert panel consisting of previous winners and industry experts, and were announced last night at London’s Grosvenor House.

Alison said: “I'm thrilled to have won this award, it is such an honour. I work with some great farmers and I don't think there has ever been a more important time to have nature's recovery alongside food production firmly on the farming agenda. Being awarded this prestigious title shows that the industry knows this, and that we all need to work together to meet the many environmental challenges we are up against."

Over the past year Alison has offered her expertise on the management of more than 16,000 hectares (39,536 acres) of land across Hampshire. By empowering individuals to support nature’s recovery beyond the borders of our nature reserves, Alison is paving the way towards a wilder future for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.