26 October 2011 Four finalists have been named for the 2011 South Island Farmer of the Year competition

Orari farmers Ray and Adrienne Bowan, whose Lincoln University graduate son James and two daughters help them in the family business, are the new South Island Farmers of the Year.

The award was made after the final round of judging at Lincoln University on Friday night (4 Nov.)

The annual contest, introduced in 1983, is held in association with the Lincoln University Foundation and rewards farmers who are innovative, efficient and sustainable  in their practices and achieve outstanding results based on these principles.

As Farmers of the Year, Ray and Adrienne received a $15,000 travel award to be used to explore and research overseas farming systems.

The runners-up were Bill and Lynda Davey of Rakaia, Mid-Canterbury.  They received a $7500 travel award.

David and Pam Gardner of Waimate, South Canterbury, received the judges’ award and also the “people’s choice” audience award  for the best public presentation about implementing innovation on their farm.

The fourth finalists were Stephen and Tracey Cullen of Mossburn, Southland.

The Bowans farm 1214 hectares at Orari and 197 hectares at Coldstream on the North Bank of the Rangitata River.  Ninety-five percent of their farm is irrigated and they grow potatoes, cereals, barley, maize and grass seed. Increasingly they are wintering dairy and had 2500 on their property last winter.

Ray is a director of Grainstor Ltd and Seedlands Ltd and is an original member of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme. In 2009 when a potato chip factory in Washdyke closed down the Bowans bought it and established Heartland Potato Chips.

The Bowans bought their first farm 40 years ago and farming is now a family affair with son James working on the farm, one daughter working in the office and another daughter assisting with marketing.

Runners-up Bill and Lynda Davey run an intensive cropping operation supplying Charmay barley for Monteith’s Brewery and they also lease land to a Dutch company that grows lily bulbs.  They are currently negotiating with a British seed house to grow and export turf grasses.

The Chairman of the Lincoln University Foundation, Neil Taylor, a member of the judging panel,  praised the calibre of the finalists saying all of them had demonstrated “tremendous performance” in terms of innovation,  productivity, profitability and participation in their wider communities.

The judges were Barry Brook, former chief executive of PGG Wrightson, Bob Simpson, senior farm management tutor at Lincoln University and retired farmer, and Neil Taylor, former chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Board.