Congratulations to Chris and Antoinette Mountfort - Supreme Award Winners of the 2008 Awards!
Field Day Information - 8 April, Chris and Antoinette's Puriri Farm, Manawahe
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards recognise sustainable farming practices with long term profitability. They encourage people to learn about and find practical solutions to achieve sustainable land use.
Their key objectives are to display to farmers that profitability need not compromise and, in the best examples, can restore and enhance environmental values.
Through feedback and profiling winners, the awards encourage other farmers to be more proactive in their resource management by providing them with role models for sustainable land management.
For more information about this year's winners, visit our 2008 Awards page.
Award ceremony: March 5 – Te Puke Citizens Club, Te Puke
Field day - 8 April, Puriri Farm, Manawahe
For the purpose of these Awards a farm will be defined as a business enterprise based on the productive or amenity use of soils or other natural resources.
The entrant’s property must be within the boundaries your regional council of your area.
The Trust reserves the right not to judge an entry if it deems the farm does not fit the overall objectives of the Awards, and not to allocate a prize in a category should there be insufficient numbers.
The property must be an economically viable farming enterprise.
The entrant agrees to participate in and assist with publicity of any Regional and/or National Event as deemed by the NZFEA Trust. Each finalist will be filmed and the resulting video and content is the property of the NZFEA Trust and that it will be used to promote the BFEA program.
Entries must be received by due date advertised on the website.
Prizes are not transferable.
The awards help many farming businesses to enhance their assets in a variety of ways. We have found many past participants have entered to learn new ways of doing things.
Farmers have said that the benefits to be gained from entering include:
- Linking sustainable farming practices to long-term profitability
- The opportunity to discuss practical farm information and business with assessors from a range of fields
- Gathering new ideas and different methods from other entrants
- Confirmation that current farm management practices are sustainable
The assessors perform a peer review of the whole farming system.
Assessment of the entrants' farming operation is an integral part of the Awards process, and is in no way based on a pass or fail situation.
To ensure entrants gain maximum value from participating, the review encourages you to discuss goals, achievements and weaknesses with the assessing team. A team of assessors will visit your property at a time suitable to you, where you will have the opportunity to showcase your knowledge and accomplishments.
The Assessment process
The assessors bring a wide range of skills to the assessment process. They come from rural professional organisations as well as sponsors and regional government. There are also a number of farmer assessors who have themselves been through the assessment process of these Awards.
When the Ballance Farm Environment Awards assessors visit, they will view your farm, talk through your plans and the implementation of them. The assessors will also discuss your production goals and how they fit with long term sustainability and also how you are sustaining the land and other natural resources on your farm.
They will also be looking for innovative ways to find sustainable solutions to the limitations you have encountered on your farm.
Your farming business will be looked at as an overall operation, not only in respect of environmental management but in relation to running a profitable business.
Some of the topics that will be considered are:
- matching production targets to sustainability
- protecting and enhancing natural features and resources
- matching land use to land type
- management of waterways
- habitat enhancement
- soil health
- growth (in your business, your community, etc).
Other areas considered include effluent management and waste disposal, nutrient management, weed and pest management, animal husbandry, planning in the use of chemicals, and future projects.
The Farm Environment Awards were established in 1993 as a joint initiative between the Waikato Conservation Board and Environment Waikato. In 1995 an independant Trust (Farm Environment Award Trust) was set up to administer the awards. Ballance Agri-Nutrients is working with the trust and Regional Councils to develop the awards throughout New Zealand.
The key objectives of the Awards are to display to farmers that profitability need not compromise and, in the best examples, can restore and enhance environmental values.
Through feedback and profiling winners, the Awards encourage other farmers to be more proactive in their resource management by providing them with role models for sustainable land management.
The awards look at whole farm systems and strongly promote the positive. Every entrant is given feedback from specialist judges.
The key question the Trust asks is, "Can what is being done now, still be working successfully in 100 years?"
Comments from previous entrants
The previous participants from different regions have stated some benefits from entering:
- Linking sustainable farming practices to long-term profitability.
- Discussing practical farm information and business with judges from a range of fields.
- Gathering new ideas and different methods from other entrants.
- Confirming that your current farm management practices are sustainable.
- Prizes and recognition.
National Partners
- Ballance Agri-Nutrients
- Livestock Improvement
- Gallagher
- Hill Laboratories
- PGGWrightson
- PPCS
Regional Partner
- Environment Bay of Plenty
Check out the New Zealand Farm Environment Awards website
For further information regarding the Awards, please contact Environment Bay of Plenty.
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Email: |
Ballance Farm Environment Awards |
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Post: |
Ballance Farm Environment Awards
P O Box 364
Whakatane |
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Telephone: |
0800 ENV BOP (368 267) |
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Facsimile: |
0800 ENV FAX (368 329) |
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