Wednesday, 21 March 2012 10:19

Farmers dominate inaugural LAAs

Written by 

FOUR OF six prestigious new awards recognising outstanding commitment to sustainable land management and local communities have gone to farmers.

The inaugural Landcare Ambassador Awards were presented at a dinner during Landcare Trust's recent conference in Hamilton. NZ Landcare Trust chief executive Nick Edgar announced the awards which were presented by Minister for the Environment, Nick Smith, and NZ Landcare Trust chair Richard Thompson.

Golden Bay dairy farmer Sue Brown, East Coast farmer Doug Avery, Waikato dairy farmer Andrew Hayes, and Maniototo sheep and beef farmer Geoff Crutchley were the farming winners.

Brown farms 300 dairy cows with her partner John Nalder near Golden Bay. When nearby cockle and mussel farmers faced closure due to high E.coli levels in the coastal waters they blamed local dairy farmers, so Brown and the dairy community formed a farmer led catchment project to improve water quality, supported by the NZ Landcare Trust.

She told Rural News winning the award took her completely by surprise.

"I find it a little difficult to take as I am the spokesperson for a community effort, but it does commend the community in its own way.

"I think to be able to go and tell a good story about farmers, especially dairy farmers is an absolute privilege and to get the award, well, it is nice to get that recognition for we have all worked hard. I think I am really privileged to have been the one who had the free time to become the spokesperson."

Avery was recognised for seeing the need to adapt to a six year series of droughts in the 1990's which caused serious erosion. He, along with the late John Peter and fellow farmers, introduced a grazing system using direct fed lucerne to improve ewe breeding efficiency and maximise lamb growth for premium returns. He's subsequently shared his story with many dryland farmers, helping others take up similar strategies.

Hayes' dairy farm is north of Hamilton and completely surrounds Lake Kaituna, as well as bordering Lake Komakorau. His award recognises his work to stop the lakes drying up, and restore their quality, which started in 1999 with willow removal. He then fenced out stock, planted along the shores, and created silt traps. He's developed a Whole Farm Management and Environment Plan.

He says he's pleased with the award but like Brown, says it recognises work done not just by himself but by many others also. He's also a fan of Landcare Trust for its ability to pull things together and get information to farmers, and others.

"They seem to have a stronger connection with Government and people listen to them."

Maniototo Sheep and Beef farmer Geoff Crutchley received his award for his interest in irrigation and water use issues.

He's chaired a number of controlling bodies since the 1980s, most recently the Upper Taieri Water Resource Management Project, aimed at establishing a whole catchment, community based model for water allocation and use.

More like this

RWNZ boss to chair Landcare

The NZ Landcare Trust will have a strong role to play with the increasing national focus on farm environmental issues, says the trust’s new chair, Fiona Gower.

Featured

Dairying deeply rooted in family

On the edge of the hot, dry Takapau plains, Norm and Del Atkins have cultivated a small but exceptional herd of 60 Holstein Friesian cows within their mixed breed herd of 360 dairy cows.

Mixed reaction to hiking levy rate

The DairyNZ board and management are currently trying to determine whether, and to what degree, their farmer levy payers will support any increase in their levy contributions.

National

Machinery & Products

Alpego eyes electric power harrow

Distributed by OriginAg in New Zealand, Italian manufacturer Alpego recently showed its three metre Alysium electric power harrow at the…

New seed drill tech coming

Incorporating Vaderstad's latest seed drill technology, the Proceed V 24, is said to improve precision and increase planting efficiencies for…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Waffle man

OPINION: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sometimes can't escape his own corporate instinct for evasion, and in what should have been…

Banks on notice

OPINION: Shane 'Matua' Jones, crusader against all things woke, including "woke banks", couldn't have scripted it better when his NZ…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter