Richard and Annabelle Subtil were the 2015 supreme winners of the Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Award. They will speak at the A&P Muster on April 11, an evening social event and an expo highlight.
The Subtils also won the Massey University Innovation Award, the Waterforce Integrated Management Award, the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award and the Environment Canterbury Water Quality Award.
They run the 12,000ha Omarama Station, a family-owned property previously farmed by Annabelle's parents Dick and Beth Wardell. In the family since 1919, the property is also home to the couple’s two children Emma and Henry.
The Subtils were required to show that their farming operation would stand scrutiny in 100 years, Richard says. Their station is a multi-generational business and Annabelle’s family has felt strongly about the need to “leave it better than they found it”.
Among their stock are 19,000 Merino sheep producing high quality fine wool. Subtil is passionate about Merinos, saying the operation is profitable, a point highlighted by the farm environment award judges.
They also run 1000 beef cattle, 310 Angus-Hereford cows, 10,000 lambs finished on the property, and 700 steers and heifers which are grown out each year. The Subtils generate extra income from farmstay accommodation and hydro electricity generation.
They have worked with local iwi and the Department of Conservation for 11 years to promote the regeneration of native longfin eels.
"We are flattered to be invited to the East Coast Farming Expo," says Subtil. "We are passionate about the challenges facing New Zealand farming in an age of innovation and change.
"We've experienced the highs and lows of trying to promote agriculture in an area regarded as a high-profile environment that should not be changed.”
The couple work to ensure their children can enjoy a life in farming, hopefully centred on Omarama Station, but expect their future to be radically different from the present.
Expo director Dave Martin said organisers are thrilled to be hosting the Subtils at this year’s event.
“It’s great the Subtils will share their experiences and knowledge, particularly regarding financial, environmental and social sustainability,” he said.
“We hope farmers will hear their messages about proven farm business operations and realise these practices will help famers farm smarter, farm longer.”
More: www.eastcoastexpo.co.nz
