Some of the best of the primary industry’s trail blazers have been honoured at the annual Primary Industries New Zealand Awards, recognised rising stars and leaders among the food and fibre sector.
The fourth annual awards held in Auckland at the Primary Industries Summit saw AgResearch’s Dr Suzanne Rowe and her team receive the Science and Research Award for their decade long work into breeding low methane-emitting sheep.
Also in the environment space, Bremworth’s sustainability programme took out the PINZ Innovation and Collaboration Award and the Manawatū River Leaders’ Accord won the inaugural Guardianship and Conservation/Kaitiakitanga Award.
Outgoing Federated Farmers national board member Chris Lewis, Pāmu dairy farmer Quinn Morgan and Professor Stewart Ledgard were honoured for their individual endeavours.
Primary Industry Champion Chris Lewis has been an elected leader for Feds at regional and national level for 17 years and in recent years has stepped up that voluntary contribution to fellow farmers and the wider industry by highlighting workforce shortages, successfully advocating to government for agricultural worker border exceptions during covid-19, encouraging more New Zealanders into the industry and championing the ‘Good Boss’ campaign.
Emerging Leader Quinn Morgan has also been outstanding inspiring others – particularly young Māori like himself – to look at a career in the primary industries, as well as giving back to the dairy sector and those who have helped him on his way.
AgResearch Principal Scientist Professor Ledgard won the Outstanding Contribution of New Zealand’s Primary Industries Award for his 40-plus years of science and leadership in soil fertility and environmental management, with a particular focus on helping grassland farmer reduce nitrogen leaching and developing the Overseer tool.
The Team Award went to United Fresh NZ Inc, which in the face of the covid-19 lockdown, quickly pivoted from their 5+ a day role to ensuring produce that could no longer be used in Fruit and Vegetables in Schools and by closed businesses ended up in foodbanks.
Not only were nearly 350,000 boxes of produce provided to whanau in need, but growers received a fair market return when many of those fruit and vegetables could have gone to waste.
MilkTechNZ won the Producer Award for its high-tech milking equipment which is now being used in farms in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Brazil.
The full list of 2022 PINZ Award winners are:
•Team Award: UFMT’s Foodbank Fruit and Vegetable Box Project
•Science & Research Award: AgResearch Breeding Low Methane-emitting Sheep Team
•Innovation & Collaboration: Bremworth
•Emerging Leader: Quinn Morgan, dairy farmer, Pamu
•Industry Champion: Chris Lewis
•Producer: MilkTechNZ
•Outstanding Contribution: Professor Stewart Ledgard
•Guardianship and Conservation/Kaitiakitanga: Manawatū River Leaders Accord
