Canterbury Arable Farmers Scoop Major National Award

Methven farmers Craige and Roz Mackenzie are the 2013 National Winners of the annual Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA).

The Gordon Stephenson Trophy was presented to the Mackenzies by the Minister for Primary Industries, the Honourable Nathan Guy, at an awards event in Hamilton on 22 June.

The couple was chosen from the nine regional Supreme winners of the 2013 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The 200ha intensive irrigated arable operation in Greenvale utilises state of the art technology to maximise production including radish, wheat, ryegrass, and barley.

Alistair Polson, New Zealand Farm Environment Trust Chair, said Craige and Roz will be worthy ambassadors for New Zealand agriculture.

“They have demonstrated excellent commitment to their own farming operation and to New Zealand farming in general. Their exceptional communication skills will be a great asset to promoting the New Zealand story in the international marketplace,” he said.

Mr Polson said the Mackenzies were selected from an outstanding group of regional winners who had clearly proved they have what it takes to be profitable and sustainable guardians of New Zealand’s natural resources.

Jocelyn Muller, BFEA Canterbury Regional Coordinator, said the Mackenzie’s win is a real coup for sustainable farming in Canterbury.

“The success of the Mackenzies at the national awards is no surprise to us. At the Regional Awards we were privileged to see how the couple embraced sustainable farming practices.

“The Regional Award judges were particularly impressed by their dedication to water efficiency through the use of modern technology including water measuring and soil-mapping devices.

“We are thrilled the Mackenzies have been recognised and the award reflects well on Canterbury farmers as leaders in the field of sustainable farming,” she said.

At the Canterbury Regional Awards the Mackenzie’s were also awarded the Environment Canterbury Water Efficiency Award earlier this year.

They also won the Water Efficiency award in 2010, proving their dedication to sustainable and profitable production is on-going.

“It is very important to be positively sharing what we do, farmers need to be profitable in the long-term and that means making sure we all look after the land and keep input costs down,” said Roz Mackenzie.

Entries for the 2014 Ballance Farm Environment Awards open soon.

For more information on the 2014 awards and the 2013 winners, visit www.bfea.org.nz

ENDS

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