CAROONA beef producers Derek and Kirrily Blomfield are in the running for a prestigious farming award.
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The pair, who produce beef and sell it directly to customers under the “Conscious Farmer” brand, are finalists in the 2014 NSW Farmer of the Year Award.
NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson announced the Blomfields, along with a beef and potato farmer from Dorrigo and a Goulburn turkey grower, were finalists for the award.
“NSW clearly has some of the best farmers in the world, and this no doubt led to a very difficult task of the judges to single out just a few of them as finalists,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“The difficulty was compounded not only by the quality of the field, but the diversity of the applicants coming from across the livestock, cropping and horticulture industries.
“These finalists are leaders in their fields – pushing the boundaries through innovation and vision in regards to all aspects of their enterprise including production, supply chains and marketing.
“They are great ambassadors for the NSW agriculture sector, displaying the know-how and energy needed to run profitable enterprises while managing their natural resources.”
The Blomfield’s 980-hectare family run property “Colorado” is managed with the aim of improving and regenerating soils, pastures and biodiversity while optimising profitability.
The family launched the branded beef business earlier this year and has already been recognised for their work with a highly commended in the 2013 Landcare Australia Innovation in Sustainable Farm Practices awards. They also took out the award for Most Sustainable Producer at this year’s Moree on a Plate food festival.
In the future, they would like to grow the business to a point where they can mentor young people in regenerative agricultural practices.
President of NSW Farmers Fiona Simson said this year’s applications highlighted the impressive range in the scale of operations and the different industries represented across agriculture in NSW.
“These are quality individuals, indicative of the healthy state of our industry,” Mrs Simson said.
“The Farmer of the Year initiative has produced some excellent industry champions in the last 11 years – and we look forward to this year’s finalists joining that impressive network.”
The annual award recognises outstanding achievement, focussing on management skills, innovation, profitability, environmental sustainability and community involvement.
The Farmer of the Year wins a cash prize of more than $10,000 and the runners up receive a $2000 prize.
The award is an initiative of NSW Farmers and NSW Department of Primary Industries.