At 13 years old, Robert Craddock has already built a farming business that’s winning awards. The teenager from Bransford, Worcestershire, was named the Kaleb Cooper New Entrant of the Year at the Young British Farming Awards 2025.
What began as an eighth birthday gift of two hens has grown into Robert’s own small-scale enterprise, producing eggs and raising livestock. He now runs “Robert’s Happy Hens – Farm Fresh Eggs,” selling about 10 dozen eggs a week.
“I’ve built my way up, saved all the profit and put it back into the business,” Robert said. “I always had a passion for farming and I always wanted to live on a farm and work on a farm.”
Robert keeps 15 laying hens and takes full responsibility for his animals, waking early each morning to feed them. His egg sales cover the cost of feed and allow him to reinvest in expanding his flock.
The award he won is backed by farmer and television personality Kaleb Cooper, who said he was “passionate” about supporting young people in what he called the “best industry in the world.” Robert has met Cooper before and described him as “an amazing person and a great inspiration for young farmers.”
His mother, Lindsey Craddock, said her son’s dedication has impressed the whole family. “We don’t actually farm ourselves, so he’s the one who gets up at six, half six, every morning to go and feed the animals. He’s the one that funds it,” she said. “He’s the one that’s got the drive and passion to keep going and make it bigger and bigger.”
She admitted hens were “not the normal eight-year-old birthday present that you would expect,” but said it has set her son on a path he has chosen for himself. “I just want Robert to be happy and whatever he does, I will support it,” she said.
Robert’s story stood out at the awards for showing how the next generation can carve out opportunities in farming, even without coming from a working farm themselves. His steady growth from selling half a dozen eggs a week to running a recognised business has made him a role model for other aspiring young farmers.
