increase font size
Opunake dairy farmers Kenneth and Rachel Short say entering the awards was a great challenge for them.
Entering the Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Awards was a great challenge for Opunake dairy farmers Kenneth and Rachel Short.
The equity partners and sharemilkers milk 443 cows on 180ha and are now converting to a fully organic operation.
They first entered the awards in 2014 and were happy to win a category award. They entered again this year and won three categories, including the CB Norwood Ltd Agri-Business Management Award, which recognises farmers’ management practices aimed at operating a successful farm business.
The judges praised the Shorts’ excellent use of agri-business professionals and their knowledge of business management and strategy.
Rachel Short says good business management is important to them.
“We are always trying to fine-tune our system. And with the payout at the current level, it’s even more crucial to constantly review what is happening inside the farm gate.”
Their entry in the awards contest was important to their planning, she says. “It made us sit down together and look hard at what we had done and what we are trying to achieve.”
The judges had a broad range of experience and expertise, and the judging was relaxed and friendly.
“I used to get nervous about these things, but the judges are normal everyday people there to help you.
“It was worthwhile having the judges come onto the farm and give us an outside perspective on our business. Some of their ideas were useful and we enjoyed their feedback.”
The Shorts are now changing their farm system to meet requirements of organic certification. “We’ve had to look hard at our fertiliser policy and how we manage weeds.”
The bumpy road you travel on teachs you a lot, believes Don Watson. And that’s the message he and wife Kirsten, supreme winners of the Auckland Ballance Farm Environment Awards, aim to pass on to their three sons.
OPINION: For many Kiwi farmers, the nutrients our farmers need simply arrive when they are needed, get applied when conditions suit, and are largely viewed as one part of the rhythm of the farming year.
Helensville farmers, Donald and Kirsten Watson of Moreland Pastoral, have been named the Auckland Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Jon and Fiona Sherlock have been named the Waikato Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
A safety push across New Zealand has revealed significant gaps in hazardous substances management, farm vehicles, tractors, quad bikes and side-by-sides.
New Zealand farmers have earned a global edge by consistently yet cautiously taking advantage of emerging agri-technology.
New season data from LIC shows a strong reproductive performance for the 2025-26 season, with a lift in key metrics compared to last season.
Xero, the global small business platform, today released its first ever small business productivity measurement backed by data from Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI).
Money invested to protect native bush, wetlands and other special habitats on farms is paying huge dividends.
Analysis of decades of research has revealed the implementation of good farming practices plays a critical role in reducing nutrient losses to improve freshwater outcomes.
OPINION: Central Hawke's Bay farmer Mark Warren recently told the Hawke's Bay Times it's time for a conversation about allowing…
OPINION: A nation that relies as heavily as NZ does on functional global shipping lanes will have to do its…
