Millers scoop Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards
Financial and environmental stewardship has helped the Miller family of Roslyn Downs take out the Regional Supreme Award at the Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Entering the Greater Wellington Ballance Farm Environment Awards was a valuable exercise for South Wairarapa viticulture business, Palliser Estate Wines of Martinborough Ltd.
Chief executive officer Pip Goodwin says the operation aims to be a leader in the production of high quality wine using the most sustainable methods possible.
“The Ballance Farm Environment Awards gave us a chance to be judged by our peers and find out what we could do to improve in future.”
After being involved in the Awards several years ago, Goodwin says entering the 2016 Awards helped Palliser Estate Wines “check we were still on the right track”.
And the judges confirmed this, awarding the operation three category awards, including the Hill Laboratories Harvest Award. This award recognises excellent crop, pasture and soil management while taking into consideration the effects the farming system has on the land resource now and in the long term.
Judges says the Palliser Estate Wines team demonstrated an excellent understanding of crop genetics and water requirements for different varieties and soil types. They also noted the operation’s “focus on minimising the impact on the environment through the use of low impact sprays”.
Pip says winning the Hill Laboratories Harvest Award was very pleasing “because growing good grape crops is our core business”.
She says being involved in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards was a positive experience for the operation, which is always looking for ways to evolve.
“Sustainability is a journey. It’s not like you wake up one day and go ‘hey we’re sustainable now.’ and you can stop working on any initiatives. We need to keep finding new ways of making our environment better.”
As a winery, the operation differs significantly to the sheep, beef and dairying businesses involved in the Awards. But Pip says the Palliser Estate team enjoyed mixing with people from a range of different industries on Awards night.
“It was inspiring to see what others are doing to improve sustainability on their farms and orchards. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in: we are all selling product offshore and doing our best to show our customers that our products are produced in an environmentally-friendly way.”
Being acknowledged by the judges of the Ballance Farm Environment Awards was good for the winery’s profile within the local community and may also help with international marketing because it shows that the business is trying to do the right thing, Pip says.
She encourages other viticulture, horticulture and agricultural operations to enter the Awards.
“It’s a great opportunity to learn something that will help you improve your business in the long term.”
Entries for the 2017 Greater Wellington Ballance Farm Environment Awards close on October 31, 2016. It costs nothing to enter and entry forms are available online at www.nzfeatrust.org.nz
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.