Landpro is the most recent Strategic Partner for the Ballance Farm Environmental Awards. The Ballance Farm Environmental Awards (BFEA) showcase New Zealand farmers and growers who are using innovative business practices that contribute to a sustainable future for our primary industries. The awards are renowned for encouraging farmers to improve their environmental impact, championing sustainability, and celebrating the achievements of farmers and growers nationwide. The awards take place regionally throughout the year, with winners from each region sent to the national awards set to take place at Te Pae, Christchurch this November.
Landpro’s range of services can be a critical step for many business owners looking to enter the awards, including supporting farmers and growers to produce a practical Farm Environmental Plan that balances profitability and sustainability to achieve their goals. The strategic partnership with BFEA aligns strongly with Landpro’s business mission and values, focusing strongly on the sustainability of both their business and New Zealand’s primary industries in their long-term business plan, which takes them to 2040.
Jason Harvey Wills, CEO at Landpro explains: “The Ballance Farm Environmental Awards offer a great opportunity for farmers and growers to gain constructive feedback from experts in the field and share ideas within the industry. We are strongly aligned with the BFEA through one of our core values 'be your best', which relates not only to our company and our staff, but to helping our farmers consistently work toward high performance in the environmental space. At Landpro, we believe that farming is and always will be a fantastic industry for New Zealand, and these awards are a great way to showcase those who are not only meeting mandatory requirements but contributing to the sustainable future of New Zealand farming."
Entrants gain the opportunity to have their business assessed by peers and industry experts, who offer free advice, feedback, and recommendations along the way. The assessment takes a holistic approach, looking at every aspect of the farm system, which offers a unique opportunity for New Zealand business owners to gain insight into their achievements and opportunities for development. Many regional winners host field days at their property to share their achievements and ideas with others, leading to greater sustainability throughout the country in the long-term.
Landpro’s involvement as a partner to the awards sees them providing in-kind services to support the awards process. Their key focus to date has been helping review the Judging Assessment Framework, aiming to support judges with a more efficient site visit process.
Kim Reilly, National Farm Environmental Manager at Landpro, explains their work with the BFEA so far: “BFEA has been great to work with. We have been helping them ensure their documentation reflects the most current regulations and issues, as well as reviewing their site visit process. Improving consistency, while retaining judges’ regional autonomy and flexibility remains an important part of the BFEA process. At Landpro, we are constantly working to educate our customers and partners on current regulation and best practice, which makes this a great fit for us. With the new documentation and processes, judges can more easily assess farming practices in relation to the most current challenges and goals we're seeing in the farming industry here in New Zealand.”
All regional winners are due to compete for the top awards at a national level in November. See the regional award winners to date at nzfeawards.org.nz/2022-award-recipients-list/
