21 October 1997 Central Canterbury couple take top Lincoln farming award

Winchmore dairy farmers John and Joanne Van Polanen have won the 1997 Lincoln University Foundation/Rabobank Farmer of the Year title and a $7500 travel scholarship to study farming methods and practices overseas.

Emerging as the year's top South Island dairy farmers from a field of five finalists who made presentations before a ‘live’ audience and judges at Lincoln University today (21.10.97), the Van Polanens milk 450 cows on a property they bought and converted in 1989. It runs to 185 hectares and in the 1995-96 season they produced 398 kilograms of milk solids per cow giving a rate of 1002 kilograms per hectare.

Their herd is predominantly registered Friesian with a current Breeding Worth of 49, placing it in the top five percent of New Zealand dairy herds.

The couple followed the traditional path to farm ownership, progressing from a waged position through share milking to property purchase. Their fully irrigated farm is predominantly Mayfield silt loam with good moisture holding capacity and good drainage.

The Farmer of the Year title is the Van Polanens second competitive success this year. Earlier they won the Aorangi section of the prestigious AC Cameron Award.

Runners-up in the Lincoln University Foundation/Rabobank competition and winners of a $2000 prize were Lloyd and Kathy McCallum of Wilsons Crossing, near Winton, Southland.

The McCallums carry 305 cows on 120 hectares and in the 1995-96 season they produced 420 kilograms of milk solids per cow, a rate of 1068 kilograms per hectare.

The five finalists in the competition represented districts from North Canterbury to Southland and the Chairman of the Lincoln University Foundation, John Nimmo, said he was "thrilled" with the very high standard of this year's entrants. The judges found the final decision "very, very hard" to make, he said.

The public presentations at Lincoln University had been preceded by an on-farm judging stage and an analysis of farm accounts and financial systems.

A special prize of $4000 was awarded for the Best Dairy Conversion and that went to brothers Graeme and Colin Sutton and their respective wives Jan and Adrienne. Originally from Nelson and the well-known farming family there, the Suttons won their award for the dairy conversion of 'Inniskillen' in the Amuri Basin near Culverden.

'Inniskillen' is a 706-hectare property which was converted from sheep and beef to dairying for the 1993-94 season. In 1995-96 the farm milked 1400 cows, yielding 382 kilograms of milk solids per cow, a rate of 1023kg per hectare in production that season.

Present for the award of the prizes at Lincoln University was sponsor Rabobank's New Zealand General Manager, Jaap Klep, who praised today's top farmers as "super-entrepreneurs" achieving wonders on a daily basis with a true passion for what they are doing.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand