As always, autumn in Wairarapa has been full of activities celebrating our province's culture. The Golden Shears in Masterton recently hosted the World Shearing Championships. It was great to see such a well-run competition supported by a vocal audience, including both the Governor-General and the Prime Minister.
The Harvest Festival again celebrated the great wine and food produced locally and continues to draw people from outside the region. Hopefully, the remainder of autumn will provide ample sunshine hours to produce quality wines from this year's vintage.
Wairarapa farmers have also been reaping a number of awards including the Wairarapa/Hawkes Bay region New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, which was won by Wairarapa's William and Sally Bosch, taking out the prestigious sharemilker/equity farmer of the year title. They will compete for the national title in May.
Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre farm business manager Tony Dowman won the East Coast Region Young Farmer of the Year. Tony will now compete in the grand final of the National Bank Young Farmer of the Year next month in Dunedin.
The team at Castlepoint Station were named the winners of the Wairarapa Farm Business of the Year for 2012. The journey this property is taking under the ownership of the Crofoot family is a great example for large-scale farming businesses. The award is clear recognition of structures and systems the team have put in place within the operation.