Skip to toolbar
  • Home
  • Browse All
  • Search
  • My History
  • Login
  • Upload
  • Crowdsource
  • More
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Register
  • Voting Results
5815
Open/Close Toolbox
    Format: News
    Parent Collection
    • 2000 News Archive
    Recollections
    Add
    no stories yet
    Copyright
    1This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License
    This licence lets you distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon this work, even commercially, as long as you credit us for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of the licences offered, in terms of what you can do with our works licensed under Attribution.
    Tweet this on TwitterShare this on FacebookShare this on LinkedInShare this on TumblrShare this via email
    Tools
    DownloadAdd to My CollectionLike this itemContact us about thisCitation for this item
    Login | Register
    Campus Buildings
    Canterbury Agricultural College
    Life at Lincoln
    Lincoln Campus From Above
    Lincoln Farms
    Lincoln Township
    Lincoln University
    Maps and Plans
    Outdoor Classroom
    Special Events
    Telford Campus
    Campus & Community
    Accolades and Honours
    Alumni International Medal
    Alumni Reunions
    Bledisloe Medal Recipients
    Blues, Golds and Greens Awards
    Environment Address
    Graduation
    Lincoln Medals and Trophies
    Lincoln University LTL Photography Competition
    Lincoln University Medal
    Ngāti Moki Trophy
    Open Day
    Presentations
    Rā Whakamana
    Sir Turi Carroll Lecture Series
    Celebrations & Events
    Class Photographs
    Group Photos
    Notable Alumni
    Recent Staff and Students
    Staff and Student Profiles
    Staff and Students
    People & Portraits
    About Our Research
    Alumni Publications
    CACLIN
    Calendar / Prospectus
    Graduation Programme
    Heritage and Histories
    Landscape Architecture
    Lincoln College Post Office
    Lincoln Envirotown Newsletter
    Lincoln Planning Review
    Lincoln University Art Collection
    Meteorological Data
    News Archive
    Rā Whakamana Programme
    Ron Blackmore Collection
    Roy Edwards Collection
    Publications & Resources
    ANZAC Day
    Canterbury Earthquakes
    Commemoration
    Dedications
    Remembrance
    World War One 1914-1918
    World War Two 1939-1945
    Remembrance & Memorials
    Cricket
    Football
    Hockey
    Rowing
    Rugby
    Skiing
    Sports Day
    Sports Programme
    Students' Executive
    Swimming Sports
    Tennis
    University Choir
    University Clubs
    Sports & Clubs

    Menu

    • Campus & Community
      • Campus Buildings
      • Canterbury Agricultural College
      • Life at Lincoln
      • Lincoln Campus From Above
      • Lincoln Farms
      • Lincoln Township
      • Lincoln University
      • Maps and Plans
      • Outdoor Classroom
      • Special Events
      • Telford Campus
    • Celebrations & Events
      • Accolades and Honours
      • Alumni International Medal
      • Alumni Reunions
      • Bledisloe Medal Recipients
      • Blues, Golds and Greens Awards
      • Environment Address
      • Graduation
      • Lincoln Medals and Trophies
      • Lincoln University LTL Photography Competition
      • Lincoln University Medal
      • Ngāti Moki Trophy
      • Open Day
      • Presentations
      • Rā Whakamana
      • Sir Turi Carroll Lecture Series
    • People & Portraits
      • Class Photographs
      • Group Photos
      • Notable Alumni
      • Recent Staff and Students
      • Staff and Student Profiles
      • Staff and Students
    • Publications & Resources
      • About Our Research
      • Alumni Publications
      • CACLIN
      • Calendar / Prospectus
      • Graduation Programme
      • Heritage and Histories
      • Landscape Architecture
      • Lincoln College Post Office
      • Lincoln Envirotown Newsletter
      • Lincoln Planning Review
      • Lincoln University Art Collection
      • Meteorological Data
      • News Archive
      • Rā Whakamana Programme
      • Ron Blackmore Collection
      • Roy Edwards Collection
    • Remembrance & Memorials
      • ANZAC Day
      • Canterbury Earthquakes
      • Commemoration
      • Dedications
      • Remembrance
      • World War One 1914-1918
      • World War Two 1939-1945
    • Sports & Clubs
      • Cricket
      • Football
      • Hockey
      • Rowing
      • Rugby
      • Skiing
      • Sports Day
      • Sports Programme
      • Students' Executive
      • Swimming Sports
      • Tennis
      • University Choir
      • University Clubs
    Previous: 15 December 2000 Industry benefits in Transpower-sponsored research laboratory at Lincoln UniversityNext: 11 December 2000 Christmas message from the Chancellor2000 News Archive

    12 December 2000 Top organic farmer named

    12 December 2000 
Top organic farmer named
    Date12th December 2000Lincoln University

     

    Central Canterbury organic farmers scooped all three places in the final of the Lincoln University Foundation/Rabobank Farmer of the Year Competition held at Lincoln University today (12 Dec.).

    Winners of the Farmer of the Year title and an overseas travel scholarship valued at $7500 were Tim Chamberlain and Rose Donaghy who farm 160 hectares of BIO-GRO certified land at Lakeside, Leeston.

    Second, winning a prize of $3000, were Andrew and Mirie Brooker of Aylesbury, who farm 452 hectares with 180 ha certified organic; and third, with a prize of $2000, were Peter and Joy McLeod who farm 8 hectares of BIO-GRO certified land at West Melton.

    This year's competition, the 18th in the annual series, had Organic Farming as the category and the chairman of the Lincoln University Foundation, John Nimmo, said the aim was to identify leadership in this particular farming discipline.

    "And we have really achieved that objective," he said, "with five top calibre finalists and a very high standard of applicants across the board."

    Tim Chamberlain and Rose Donaghy farm mixed cropping land near Lake Ellesmere and the couple's interest in organics started after an overseas trip through Europe and North America in the early 1980s. They began their own "steep learning curve" in 1985 after believing it would be "relatively straight forward" to go organic.

    Tim says that marketing is a vital part of farming, particularly organic farming. When they started in organics they thought that cereals and animal-based products would be their only farm outputs. They now grow a range of crops including vegetables, herbs, cereals and livestock (organic lambs).

    The couple say it has taken time to build up the contacts and markets for their diverse range of crops and they spend a lot of time talking with their customers and prospective customers to ensure that selling opportunities keep arising. They focus very much on the local market and direct selling to consumers.

    Andrew and Mirie Brooker produce peas, linseed, wheat, barley, carrots, onions, potatoes and organic lambs.

    Andrew's father started in organics in the early 1990s with one paddock of peas for Wattie's. Today Andrew himself farms 180 hectares organically.

    "Our philosophy is to grow what people want and are prepared to pay a premium for, rather than what they will take at a price," he says.

    "In organic farming you have to be well organised and plan well ahead as there are no shortcuts or quick fixes if anything goes wrong. Weeding costs are our biggest drawback and in the case of onions and the like it can be the difference between profit and loss."

    Peter and Joy McLeod produce organic chickens, nashi pears and tart cherries on their West Melton property. Peter says that from the time the chickens arrive as day-old chicks they receive "five-star treatment". They are fed the best certified organic food available – no additives, growth promotants or coccidiostats. They are kept super healthy with special mixtures of garlic, cider and "some other stuff too secret to mention".

    They are currently the only BIO-GRO certified growers of meat chickens in the South Island and they send their product from Invercargill to Wellington.

    "We're getting enquiries weekly from further afield, including export approaches," says Peter.

    He says that one of the reasons very few people are doing organic BIO-GRO free range meat chickens in New Zealand is because it is difficult.

    "We have had to draw on our vast knowledge of organic systems to achieve what we have," he says.

    The other finalists were Ian Blakemore of Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, and Ian and Jenny Sloan of Wyndham.

     

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

    KeywordsLincoln University Foundation Rabobank Farmer of the YearLast edited by: Katarina KoningsOrganic FarmingLast edited by: Katarina KoningsFarmer of the YearLast edited by: Katarina Konings
    Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho (7th Dec 2021). 12 December 2000 Top organic farmer named. In Website Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho. Retrieved 1st Feb 2023 03:00, from https://livingheritage.lincoln.ac.nz/nodes/view/5815
    Content on this site is available for reuse | Contact us
    Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
    Content on this site may be subject to Copyright, please contact Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho before any reuse if you are unsure.
    RECOLLECT is Copyright © 2011-2023 by Recollect Limited | Page rendered in 0.9109 seconds