From a couple who first started mixing their hemp hand and body creams in a cake mixer in their kitchen to a Central Hawke’s Bay farming figure with a track record of giving back to the industry, the 2023 Arable Awards finalists have been named.
Pity the judges who have to choose between Arable Farmer of the Year finalists Craig and Anna Whiteside of Gore, David Clark of Ashburton and Hugh Ritchie of Ōtāne, all of whom have demonstrated excellence and an attitude of giving back to the arable industry.
It won’t be easy to pick the Innovation Award winner either.
Finalists are Next Generation Farming project participant and precision farming enthusiast Roscoe Taggart of Oxford; Jody and Blair Drysdale of Hopefield Hemp, who grow, harvest, dry, press and process hemp into range of oils and balms on their Southland farm; Timaru’s Andrew and Amy Darling, committed adopters of a range of sensors, testers and techniques to boost profitability and sustainability; and Te Awamutu contractor and maize grower John Austin, another precision agriculturalist who was quite likely the first in NZ to employ yield mapping.
There’s always a lot of interest in the Food Champion Award - the growers and enterprises finding new ways to use seeds, cereals and other arable crops to drive profitability. Finalists this year are Ethan Flack, who buys product directly from local growers and showcases them on his menu for his exclusive in-home dinners; Farmers Mill, the nation’s only independent, grower-owned and operated flour producer; Southland’s Auld Farm Distillery, which processes nine grains into a range of spirits, including whisky and gin; and Nick and Kath Walters of Pure NZ Buckwheat Ltd, a fast-growing enterprise that has invested in processing equipment which makes it easier for others to diversify into this crop.
