What happens when you enter

What happens?

You will be consulted regarding a suitable time for the judging team to visit. Generally these visits take half a day to a day – it depends on the scale of your farm. This is a chance to get free, independent feedback on a variety of farm management issues, so make the most of it!

Each judging team is made up of 3-4 people. A team will generally include a farmer who has been a past BFEA achiever, plus specialists from organisations such as the regional council, Department of Conservation, QE II Trust, sponsor representatives and other farm consultancies.

If you are chosen as a finalist you will be asked to suggest a time for a farm visit by the final round judges. To try and retain consistency in the judging process, a single team “re-assesses” all the finalists.

What will they want to know?

The BFEA judging process is NOT about ticking off checklists, pointing out mistakes, poring over accounts, or putting you on the spot. The team wants to see what you’re proud of on your farm. They’ll look at how you are approaching your particular farming situation, the challenges you think it presents and the appropriate and/or innovative ways you have chosen to meet these challenges. They will observe how you’re thinking about the whole farm system and how it’s performing financially, socially and environmentally.

They will want to hear about your vision for the farm, how you intend to get there and how well this plan is understood by everyone involved. The team realises that time, money and labour constraints affect how fast you can make progress and doesn’t expect all the elements of your plan to be in place. However they will want to see how you are making steady, tangible steps in the right direction.

Sometimes the judging team may feel that a piece of the sustainable management jigsaw has been overlooked. You may already be aware of the issue and have a management strategy ‘in the wings’ but, if not, the judges may make suggestions about how to address the gap. Again, their objective is not to pick faults but to make sure you have all the tools at your disposal to keep improving.

It’s not all about winning

At the end of the day, the judging process does produce a Regional Supreme Award Winner but in reality the Ballance Farm Environment Awards celebrate all entrants. The judges feel that anyone who is taking steps towards sustainable farm management is a winner and that it is a privilege to be invited onto your farm. They try to make judging an encouraging, exciting and rewarding process.

Past entrants have found the awards an excellent way to benchmark progress and gain access to valuable information and people that can help them achieve their sustainable farm management goals.

Benefits of entering

• The opportunity to confidentially discuss practical farm information and business with judges from a range of fields.
• The whole farm is looked at, i.e. environmental, financial and social elements, not just this year’s bottom-line.
• Gained new ideas and different methods from other entrants and judges.
• Recognised that some of their everyday practices already enhance the environment.
• Received a constructive feedback report that describes the strengths and areas of improvement for their whole farm operation.
• Extend their networks throughout the region and across different farm types.
• An Awards Night and Field day.
• Helped them focus on the direction they’re wanting to head in.

To download this information as a PDF follow this link. To download an entry form click here.