increase font size
Northland farmers Gay Pembroke and Mark Corby say the Ballance Farm Environment Awards was a great learning and development experience.
Entering the Ballance Farm Environment Awards was a great learning and development experience, say Keitai farmers Gay Pembroke and Mark Corby.
“The past 12 months have been great fun. It was a wonderful experience. Entering the awards and being involved in the process has given us a lot more confidence that what we are doing is on track,” Pembroke says.
They have owned their 102ha dairy support/beef block at Kaitaia for three years. Neither is from a farming background and they say the change they made from 4ha to 102ha was exciting but massive.
They enjoyed networking at the Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards dinner and the comments and feedback they got from the judges.
“The feedback they gave is fabulous, very encouraging and there is a lot of valuable information in the report – great ideas and great concepts. We often refer to it and have shared it with others.”
While the couple did not make it through to the second round of judging they say they have no regrets.
“We were not finalists, but that did not dishearten or embarrass us,” Pembroke adds. “We definitely recognised the calibre of the finalists and the regional winners. We also acknowledge the time and effort contributed by the organisers, sponsors and judges.”
Entering again is a possibility for the couple. “We will definitely contemplate it. We have more capital development to do and we want to finish some of the items mentioned in the feedback report,” Corby says.
“We would strongly recommend and encourage others to enter. Do not wait until you think your farm is where you want it to be; enter and learn as a work in progress.”
He says a lot of the locals had been telling the couple they were doing a great job.
“But we were also looking for reassurance from professional people advising us we are on the right track.”
National judging co-ordinator Andrea Hanna says judging teams have a wide range of skills and look at all parts of the farming business. Judging is relaxed and friendly and climatic factors are considered.
“In the past, we’ve found farmers can be reluctant to enter if their farm or orchard has been affected by wet weather or drought,” Hanna says. “But the judges know severe climate events are part of farming and growing and will look beyond this at the wider picture.”
Anyone may nominate a farmer or grower, provided the nominee agrees. Entries are now open.
With entries now open for the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, organisers have launched a campaign to bust some of the biggest myths they think might be preventing farmers and growers from putting themselves forward.
Michelle and Tony Roberts didn't inherit the farming business they have today. They’ve built it from the ground up.
OPINION: New Zealand agriculture has always been built on partnerships.
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.
The New Zealand ploughing team to the world championship in Croatia next month will be banking on borrowed equipment as they seek glory.
Just a matter of hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic trip to New Zealand, the political doors in India swung wide open for Associate Minister of Agriculture, Mark Patterson, who was there to help promote our high-quality coarse wool.
A new company set up to cultivate and supply seaweed for animal methane mitigation studies believes it could be a game changer for the dairy industry.
There's strong support from the horticulture sector for the Government's plans to overhaul and streamline the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
With entries now open for the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, organisers have launched a campaign to bust some of the biggest myths they think might be preventing farmers and growers from putting themselves forward.
Changes to an act of parliament seen as critical to speeding up access to overseas products to control pests and invasive species in NZ is unlikely to get passed before the November election.
OPINION: Mike Chapman, former chief executive of levy-funded HortNZ, has thrown out a challenge to farmers and growers to put…
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
