Overview

The overall objective of the Awards is to promote sustainable land management on New Zealand farms believing that role models and education are effective tools to improving farming practices.

This objective is achieved by:

• The judging process, which we aim to keep mutually enjoyable and informative
• Our commitment to practical solutions, which benefit people as well as the land
• Our support for diversity – there’s never one right answer, it’s about what works
• Our deed requires us to use objectives criteria to determine sustainable management where practical

Our down-to-earth approach to communicating sustainable management concepts which relies on real people and their stories.

These Awards are unlike other events. Entrants are not seeking major prizes or overseas trips. Most instead are seeking to share their ideas and expertise with the wider farming community. They are seeking to have a ruler run over their enterprise to provide a personal benchmark.

Notable among our entrants is a pattern of seeking methods, often in innovative ways, to find sustainable solutions to limitations that they encounter in their farming businesses. We see enormous skill demonstrated in tackling the challenges of the specific farm environment they encounter.

We see New Zealand ingenuity at its best, where many solutions are found through innovation, often by thinking outside the square. This ingenuity is driven by the desire to understand the constraints each property imposes and the desire to find solutions through careful planning, and the use of outside consultation where necessary.