A mother-and-daughter farmer duo have been acknowledged for their outstanding environmental work in the first ever VetPartners Sustainable Farming Environmental Impact Award.
Clairval organic dairy farm, run by Gaynor and Zoe Marshall, was named runner-up in the prestigious award which celebrates farmers leading the way in biodiversity, emissions reduction, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable land management.
The Sustainable Farming Environmental Impact Award is one of four new accolades launched by VetPartners in 2025 to honour farmers making a difference to both animal health and the environment.
VetPartners, a veterinary group led by vets, owns New Era Vets.
Home to a 20-cow milking herd of pure Jerseys, Clairval is now one of only two organic dairy farms on the island and has been run by the pair since the unexpected loss of Gaynor’s mother, Sadie Le Sueur-Rennard, in 2022.
They believe that caring for the land and supporting wildlife is essential to securing the farm’s long-term sustainability for future generations whilst being fully committed to preserving the genetic integrity of the herd.
As such, a focus is on reducing the carbon footprint of food for the herd, and the cattle are now fed entirely on organic home-grown silage, fodder beet, and straw, to reduce reliance on external feed sources.
To meet organic and industry standards, no pesticides are used, field maintenance is carried out by hand, and, with the slurry pit not enclosed, the Marshalls only use aged manure spread as fertiliser to ensure it meets organic requirements.
To improve soil health and grazing quality, the farm swaps land with local organic potato growers – a practice they believe benefits both parties by offering more grazing for the cows whilst replenishing soil nutrients for potato growing land with cattle grazing returning organic matter and manure to the soil.
The Marshalls follow a herd health plan to maintain healthy cows with minimal intervention – a partnership they feel has been essential in supporting their environmental efforts.
One key result is no cases mastitis in two years, meaning no antibiotic intervention required during this period.
Their vet, Ralph Maalouf, described the duo as “inspiring” and praised how much they had achieved in such a short time.
Photo caption: Ralph Maalouf from New Era Vets with mother and daughter duo Gaynor and Zoë Marshall
