Small landholding, big wins

When Jasmine and Luke Franklin entered the Ballance Farm Environment Awards for the first time last year, they weren’t sure if their family’s market garden business was the sort of operation the programme was looking for. 

“Our Ballance Agri Nutrients representative had been encouraging us to enter for a few years,” Jasmine said. “I started looking into the Awards and initially thought it was something that was out of our league. We’re a small landholding and have some pretty niche elements to our business. I just assumed the Awards were for the big players,” she said. 

Jasmine did a deep dive into the Awards programme online and realised they are designed to celebrate excellence across the entire primary sector, regardless of size, scale or industry. 

“I just thought ‘why not?’ There was nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she said.  

Jasmine and her husband Luke are the fifth generation of the Franklin family to farm their Kaipara property in the Auckland region. While celery remains the backbone of the business, the farm has evolved into something much more than a market garden. 

Alongside producing around 61,000 cases of celery each year, the family operates a butterfly house dedicated to supporting monarch butterflies and educating visitors about biodiversity. Every year, around 60,000 butterflies are bred and released from the property. 

The farm is also home to flowering cover crops, extensive native plantings, thriving birdlife and managed water systems designed to protect the surrounding environment. 

“Initially with the Awards, I thought you chose a category you wanted to be judged on and that was it. For us, biodiversity was an obvious fit. It wasn’t until we got further into the process that I realised the judges look at your business through the lens of every category.” 

Entering the awards was a far cry from the daunting assessment they had imagined. 

“We found the judging process a really lovely experience. It didn’t feel like judging at all. It was more like having a great conversation about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, opportunities for the future and things we might want to consider,” she said.  

The Awards also provided something Jasmine said can be difficult to find within the horticulture industry – connection. 

“Horticulture can feel quite isolating at times because you’re competing with people in the same industry. Compared with some other sectors, there can be fewer opportunities to openly share ideas and experiences.” 

One of the highlights of the Awards programme was meeting people from across New Zealand’s primary industries. 

“I really enjoyed the pan-sector nature of the Awards. Everyone is celebrated and treated equally. We met some fantastic people who have become a positive catalyst for change within our business,” she said.  

One area where the Awards have already made a tangible difference is succession planning. Through the awards event, the couple met Ross Neal from Rabobank, whose succession programme immediately appealed to them and they have since begun the conversations of working through the programme. 

“Keeping harmony within our family and ensuring everyone’s still talking around the dinner table is incredibly important to us,” Jasmine said. “We’re really grateful the Awards connected us with Ross and helped start those conversations.” 

On a personal level, Jasmine said the Awards experience fueled her confidence with what they were doing. “We are incredibly aspirational people and it was really nice to be acknowledged for the hard work we’ve put in. We’re always striving to improve and the Awards gave us reassurance that we’re heading in the right direction,” she said.  

For anyone wondering whether they’re ready to enter, Jasmine has a simple message. 

“I wasn’t sure the Awards were for us. Looking back, filling out the entry form was probably the most daunting part.  We found the whole process very enjoyable, supportive and incredibly positive. If you’re considering entering, just do it. You’ll get far more out of it than you expect,” she said.