A final shortlist of 25 farmers and farm advisers has confirmed the regional winners in the 2017 Growth Awards.
The trans-Tasman awards recognise the finalists’ groundbreaking efforts in meeting the economic, environmental and community goals in pursuit of a better future for agriculture as a whole.
Now in its fourth year, the Syngenta Growth Awards credit growers and advisers in Australia and New Zealand whose work is helping ensure a sustainable future as the sector faces a range of increasingly complex challenges.
The three categories – productivity, sustainability and community/people – will be contested at the finals judging by representatives from all states, including vegetable growers, vineyard advisers, broadacre graingrowers and farm commodity sector leaders.
Four finalists are from NZ, six from NSW, and Queensland and Western Australia both have five.
The awards support the goals of Syngenta’s Good Growth Plan, which addresses the challenges of producing more with less, protecting the viability of farmland and promoting prosperous rural communities.
Under the plan, Syngenta has made six specific commitments designed to increase crop productivity, improve land fertility, enhance biodiversity, empower smallholders, train farm workers on safe use and strive for fair labour conditions across the entire supply chain.
“Today, Australasian agriculture is facing greater pressure to produce more from less, in a sustainable way,” said Syngenta’s Australia and NZ territory head, Paul Luxton.
“Across our top 25, we are seeing a consistent commitment to challenging complacency and investing in research and development initiatives to advance our industry.
“Our regional winners are leading the way in adopting new practices and technologies to increase quality and yields while minimising their impact on land and the environment.”
Mr Luxton said there was also a shared passion among the regional winners for promoting a more positive, stronger image of agriculture.
“It’s inspiring to see how our regional winners continue to push themselves in their quest to open up new domestic and international opportunities for industry participants and better tell the story of Australasian agriculture,” he said.
Seven winners will be selected by an independent judging panel and announced at the annual Growth Awards gala dinner in Sydney on November 30.
They then have the opportunity to participate in a world-class study tour to the UK and Europe in 2018.
The awards are presented in partnership with Case IH and Fairfax Agricultural Media.
Regional winners were chosen based on a rigorous selection criteria for each category and will now progress to the final stage of the Awards.
“It was a difficult task to select our top 25 from a pool of such high calibre nominees, but we are proud to celebrate their contributions towards increasing the productivity, sustainability and connectivity of our industry,” Mr Luxton said.
The regional winners are:
NSW
- Peter Calabria: Yenda Producers Co-Operative, (adviser)
- Kirrily Condon: Grass Roots Agronomy, (adviser)
- Fiona Hall: Caernarvon Cherry Co, (grower)
- Peter McKenzie: AgVance Farming Ltd, (adviser)
- James Quinn: Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd: (adviser)
- Mike Walsh: University of Sydney, (adviser)
Queensland
- Jamie Iker: Iker Spackman Ag Consulting,
- (adviser)
- Daniel Nicoletti: A I and D Nicoletti, (grower)
- Greg Platz: Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, (adviser)
- Tom Woods Snr: Woods Grains, (adviser)
- Darren Zunker: Wyndhum Farms, (grower)
South Australia
- Ashley Keegan: FABAL Wines Pty Ltd, (grower)
Tasmania
- Marty Smith: TP Jones and Co Pty Ltd, (adviser)
Victoria
- Andrew Bulmer: Bulmers Farm Fresh Vegetables, (grower)
- Tania Chapman: Colignan Producers Pty Ltd, (grower)
- Kate Wilson: Agrivision Consultants, (adviser)
Western Australia
- Ray Harrington: R and B Harrington Farms, (grower)
- Luke Marquis: South East Agronomy Services, (adviser)
- Michael Nixon: Riverlodge Assets, (grower)
- Grant Thompson: Crop Circle Consulting, (adviser)
- Duncan Young: JT Young and Sons, (grower)
New Zealand
- Pravin Hari: RC Hari and Sons, (grower)
- Paul Lysaght: Seed and Field Services (SI) Ltd, (adviser)
- Vaughan Redshaw: Fruitfed Supplies, (adviser)
- Bruce Shepherd: EastPack Ltd, (adviser)