Entrants gear up for Farmer of the Year announcement
FARMERS from across the southeast of Australia are gearing up for Farmer of the Year awards tonight.
FARMERS from across the southeast of Australia are gearing up for The Weekly Times Coles 2014 Farmer of the Year awards tonight.
Presented by former Olympic swimmer and television personality Giaan Rooney, the award recognises trailblazers in six farming categories — cropping, beef, dairy, horticulture sheep and small, part-time and lifestyle farming.
The major award, $10,000 cash will go to The Weekly Times Coles 2014 Farmer of the Year, while category winners will each receive $3000 cash.
These farming trailblazers will also rub shoulders with new Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford.
Follow The Weekly Times online, on Twitter and on Facebok for the live results. Here are the finalists:
Cropping Farmer of the Year
Andrew Russell, Jason Wright and Ken Baker
Andrew, Jason and Ken operate Rutherglen’s EG Baker and Co, which produces high-quality seeds for crop production, grain and cattle. Their entire focus is to make the crops as close to perfect as possible.
Garry, Kate, Karl, Anthony and Rachel Bibby
The Bibbys have transformed the family farm at Berriwillock, in Victoria’s Mallee, into a high technology precision agriculture business that in 2014 planted 5000 hectares of crops. The family was one of the first in the district to grow vetch for livestock feed and its nitrogen benefits.
John and Sarah Bruce
John and Sarah, from Barooga in southern NSW, believe livestock offers a vital source of income, a return on stubble crops and better use of labour. By running lambs on crops they can generate up to $370 per tonne in grazing value alone, on top of impressive yields at harvest.
Beef Farmer of the Year
Andrew, Anne and Tom Hicks
Andrew and Anne Hicks, and son Tom, run 1400 stud and commercial breeding cows near Holbrook in southern NSW. They have discovered that by blending the best of the Angus, Simmental and Gelbvieh breeds they can get up to 20 per cent more weight into their cattle.
Fiona Conroy and Cam Nicholson
The Nicholson’s Knewleave Partnership at St Leonards, on the Bellarine Peninsula is producing steers for the lucrative long-fed Japanese market. They operate with a focus on the environment — planting 40,000 trees and fencing off a number of plantations and watercourses.
Michael and Ruth McCormack
Michael and Ruth, from The Cascade Pastoral Company in North East Victoria, are sticklers when it comes to genetics. They have moved away from selling big lines of weaners in autumn to marketing breeding cattle in the prime of their lives, boosting the overall quality of the herd.
Dairy Farmer of the Year
Simon and Katie Gleeson
Simon and Katie Gleeson run Bilyana Grazing, a business enjoying considerable success in taking the responsibility of heifer rearing — one of the most important roles in dairy farming — out of the hands of fellow farmers.
Aaron and Vanessa Thomas
Aaron and Vanessa Thomas at Binginwarri in South Gippsland entered into a sharefarm arrangement in 2013 milking 180 Jersey cows on 94 hectares. Working on the theory that grass is the best way to produce the cheapest form of milk, they generate a profit of $7 per cow a day.
Brad and Becc Couch
Brad and Becc milk 360 cows on their farm at Brucknell, near Timboon in southwest Victoria. They’ve cut costs to about two thirds of the district average and through an uncomplicated system geared around getting the most out of the cheapest source of feed turn a profit each year.
Horticulture Farmer of the Year
Nathan Free
Nathan Free runs Wattle Organic Farms at Tresco West, near Swan Hill. He has helped transform almost 800 hectares of conventional farming land into highly productive organic country that produces fruit and vegetables for major supermarkets, wholesale markets and export.
Joe Vizzarri
The Australian Asparagus Council president runs Vizzarri Farms — one of the nation’s biggest asparagus and broccolini growers with 36 properties spread across 970ha near Koo Wee Rup in South Gippsland. It produces 4000 tonnes of asparagus and 1500 tonnes of broccolini a year.
Nick and Els Bakker
Automation is the key to success for Els and Nick, who operate TNB Tulips at Monbulk, produce up to seven million tulips a year. While all tulips are picked by hand, everything else — including the plant beds, trimming and bunching — is automated.
Sheep Farmer of the Year
Andrew and Mandi Bouffler
The Boufflers have thrown out the rule book on stud breeding at their Lockhart operation. Here stud sheep are run under commercial conditions, Poll Merinos are shorn twice a year to maximise survival rates and rams are selected for muscle, fat and growth traits, and their wool.
David and Michele Farley
A switch from buying first-cross ewes to breeding their own maternal replacements has been a successful one for the Farleys, from Kybybolite, SA. They run 10,000 crossbred ewes and about 40 per cent are mated to composite rams to produce replacement ewes while the rest are joined to Poll Dorsets to produce lambs for the terminal market.
Darren and Shannon
The Bahrs run 1700 Merino breeding ewes at The Rock, in NSW. They produce sheep for both wool and meat production. A unique selection model based on fleece value was introduced to ensure the most productive sheep remained in the flock rather than being culled for age.
The Farm Magazine Farmer of the Year
Sue McKenzie and Kevin Pace
The Paces bought their retirement property at Koonoomoo, 10 years ago. Riversdale Farm Organic orchard now produces premium oranges, lemons and grapefruit for fresh-food markets nationwide as well as value-added products including jams, sauces and cordials.
Hayden and Jasmin Findlay
The Findlays run Ravens Creek Farm near Geelong, where they produce Red Devon and Square Meater cattle, lamb, vegetables, fruits, flowers, pigs, hens, eucalyptus trees for furniture and oak trees with truffles. They have plans for a citrus orchard and on-site boning room.
Alistair and Catherine Hicks
Over the past 10 years Alistair and Catherine have positioned their Blue Gables Vineyard, in a paddock on Catherine’s family farm at Upper Maffra West in Gippsland, into a highly acclaimed vineyard and cellar door.
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