Vets receive honours at the Cream Awards

Sarah Tomlinson, a former Dairy Vet of the Year, has been named Dairy Industry Woman of the Year for 2026. The award was presented at a ceremony at Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwickshire.

Tomlinson previously won the Dairy Vet of the Year award in 2020. She is lead veterinary science expert at the AHDB and chairs the bTB Hub Working Group. She also serves on England’s TB Eradication and Advisory Group and the Welsh TB Technical Advisory Group, and leads the GB Calf Strategy Industry Working Group.

The Woman of the Year prize is organised by Women in Dairy, an initiative of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. It has been awarded for the 10th year. Tomlinson was selected ahead of Lorna Burdge of Waterhayne Farms, Leanne Bertram of Grahams Family Dairy and Vicky Sloane-Masson of Ballacricket Farm.

RABDF chief executive Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, who judged the awards, said Tomlinson combined expertise on bovine tuberculosis with an ability to engage people across the dairy sector. Campbell-Gibbons said Tomlinson’s work had supported farmers facing difficult circumstances and described her as an inspiration to women in the industry.

Sam Potter, director of Hook Norton Veterinary Group, was named Virbac Dairy Vet of the Year. His work helped one farm cut mastitis from 80 cases per 100 cows to eight. At another farm, it contributed to a 15% rise in the daily liveweight gain of calves.

LLM Farm Vets in Derbyshire won Dairy Vet Practice of the Year. Virbac farm and equine product manager Sarah Kearney cited the practice’s VetInvest financial tracking tool, Digifarm health monitoring and calf dashboards. LLM opened eight years ago as the first farm-animal practice in its area, according to strategic board director Andrew Henderson. Potter called his award an honour and credited his veterinary team and dairy-farmer clients.