Soil scientist leads 2026 New Year Honours for farming

Pioneering soil scientist Lorna Dawson has been made a Dame Commander (DBE) in the 2026 New Year Honours List.

Professor Dawson, of the James Hutton Institute, has more than 35 years of experience managing and conducting research in soil and plant interactions.

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Brought up on a family farm, she has worked at the forefront of forensic soil science for two decades – especially in earth sciences.

Forensic soil science is the application of soil analysis to link people, objects or activities to specific locations in criminal or environmental investigations.

As an expert witness, Prof Dawson has presented evidence in more than 25 cases – including the World’s End murders and the Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry.

She also led a Royal Society of Edinburgh inquiry which concluded that farmers are “very much part of the solution” to the issues of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Prof Dawson established the Centre for Forensic Soil Science at the James Hutton Institute – and her work has been influential across the world.

The award reflected the extraordinary contributions of both the centre and the institute – and the dedicated collaborators who worked with them, she said.

“Soil science may seem an unsung discipline, but its applications – from underpinning sustainable land management, producing safe, nutritious food to providing robust scientific evidence that supports the criminal justice system – make a real difference to society in the UK and across the world.”

Other New Year Honours for agriculture

CBE

• Gideon Henderson, professor of earth sciences at Oxford University, and lately chief scientific adviser at Defra – for services to science.

OBE

• Economist and Defra non-executive director Dan Corry, lately lead of the independent review of the Defra regulatory landscape – for public service.

MBE

• Richard Clothier, managing director of Wyke Farms – for services to sustainable agriculture and food production.
• Roland Engebretson and Rebecca Lindsay, co-founders and directors of Macaulay College on the Isle of Lewis – for services to education, social inclusion and people with additional support needs.
• Professor Simon Pearson, founding director of the Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology at Lincoln University – for services to agricultural innovation and education.
• Welsh farmer, mentor and safety trainer Brian Rees, of Llandrindod Wells, Powys – for services to farm safety.

British Empire Medal

• Former NFU vice-president Gwyn Jones, lately cattle sector group chair of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway – for services to animal health and welfare.
• Sussex tenant farmer John Holt, of Droke Farm, Chichester – for services to sustainable farming.
• Professor David Main, deputy vice-chancellor of the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, and lately chair of the Home Office Animals in Science Committee – for services to animal welfare.
• Alice Storry, procurement manager at Bath and North-East Somerset Council – for services to sustainable and local food procurement.