Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Celebrate the people and places behind the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, from past winners and regional contacts to the farms and sponsors shaping your region.

Key dates.

Entries Open

1 July 2025

Entries Close

31 October 2025

Finalists announced

February 2026

Awards Event

12 March 2026

2026 Open Day

TBC

2026 Taranaki finalists.

Beef, Sheep

Rex Petersen and Jorge Coplestone Otawin

View their story
Dairy

​​Paul Kuriger Crystal Rivers Taranaki

View their story
Beef, Sheep

Gavin Jordan & Julie Fleming Kamahi

View their story
Dairy grazing

Philip & Lyneyre Hooper Hoopman Family Trust

View their story

Celebrate their stories with us.

Join us to celebrate the Taranaki regional award finalists on 12 March 2026.

Buy tickets

Current and past BFEA winners.

2025 Taranaki Regional Supreme Winner

Brendan Attrill

Brendan Attrill

Caiseal Trust
  • National Ambassador and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy 2025
  • Taranaki Regional Supreme Winner 2025
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
  • Norwood Farming Efficiency Award
  • Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award
  • Taranaki Regional Council Sustainability Award
Read their story

2025 Award Recipients

Craig and Mary Dorn  

  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
Read their story

John & Donna McCarty

McCarty Farms  
  • Hill Labs Agri-Science Award
Read their story

Mathew and Vanessa Vujcich

Nine Streams Farm
  • NZFET Biodiversity Award
Read their story

2023 Taranaki Regional Supreme Winner

Jacques and Vanessa Le Prou

Jacques and Vanessa Le Prou

Java Farm
  • Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners 2023
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
  • Norwood Farming Efficiency Award
  • Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award
  • Taranaki Regional Council Sustainability Award
Read their story

2023 Award Recipients

Murray & Kaye Jackson and Cruise & Sarah Hamilton

Te Kupe Station
  • NZFET Biodiversity Award
Read their story

Richard & Jenni Brewer and William & Lisa Brewer

Brewer Farms
  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
  • Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award
Read their story

Tony Gane, Peter & Carol Gane, Charlie & Anna Smith

Gane and Sons
  • NZFET Innovation Award
Read their story

2022 Taranaki Regional Supreme Winner

David and Samantha Turner

David and Samantha Turner

The Grange
  • Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners 2022
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
  • Taranaki Regional Council Sustainability Award
Read their story

2022 Award Recipients

Jono and Amy Ardern

Auroa
  • Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award
  • Massey University Innovation Award
Read their story

Kenneth and Rachel Short

Shortland Farm
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
  • WaterForce Wise with Water Award
Read their story

Kieran and Olivia Clough

Wilaily
  • Norwood Agri-Business Management Award
Read their story

2020 Taranaki Regional Supreme Winner

The Brown family

The Brown family

Rukumoana Farms
  • Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners 2020
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
  • Norwood Agri-Business Management Award
  • Synlait Climate Stewardship Award
  • WaterForce Wise with Water Award
  • Taranaki Regional Council Sustainability Award
Read their story

2020 Award Recipients

Robert & Verna Bourke and Conna & Nick Smith

Fern Flats
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
Read their story

Steve Lepper

Lepper Trust
  • Massey University Innovation Award
Read their story

The Stanley family

Stanley Brothers Trust
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award
Read their story

Celebrating stewardship across Taranaki.

Taranaki

Patea River Catchment Group 

View their story
Taranaki

Brendan Attrill

Caiseal Trust
View their story
Taranaki

Jacques and Vanessa Le Prou

Java Farm
View their story
Taranaki

Mathew and Vanessa Vujcich

Nine Streams Farm
View their story
Taranaki

Richard & Jenni Brewer and William & Lisa Brewer

Brewer Farms
View their story
Our regional partner

Taranaki Regional Council

Recognising our regional winners and showing why sustainable farming matters for our community.

The caliber of regional Ballance Farm Environment Awards winners and finalists has certainly vindicated the Taranaki Regional Council’s decision to form a partnership with the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust to bring the Awards to the region in 2014.

The Ballance Farm Environment Awards, with their national scope and competitive focus, perfectly complement the council’s own long-standing Taranaki Regional Council Environmental Awards, which highlight and celebrate environmental achievement across all sectors of the regional community.

Just one of the reasons Taranaki is truly like no other.

View website

Taranaki region awards.

Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award

This Award focuses on the management of soil and nutrients. A strong understanding of nutrients and nutrient budgeting is demonstrated. The impacts of nutrients and management practices on both soil fertility as well as surface and ground water are understood and well managed.

Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award

This Award is focused on the all-important people side of the farming and growing business. It recognises the importance of staff management, succession, community involvement, health and safety and other practices associated with people management and wellbeing.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award

This Award recognises the livestock farmer who demonstrates a commitment to long-term land and animal stewardship. It considers sustainable use of land, labour and capital resources, with livestock well cared for and stock class and type managed appropriately to the land contour and soil type.

DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award

This Award recognises dairy farmers who demonstrate a strong commitment to managing, protecting and enhancing their environment. It focuses on sustainable on-farm actions that show high standards of environmental care and sustainable use of the land, stock, labour and capital resources.

FMG Risk Management Award

This award recognises those who have identified and proactively managed any risks that could negatively impact their business to minimise the likelihood or severity of those risks. This covers all aspects of people management and farm planning, including business and financial risk management.

Hill Labs Agri-Science Award

This Award recognises excellence in the use of science and monitoring to optimise productivity and minimise environmental impacts. A good understanding of soil, water, plant and crop protection should be demonstrated, with supporting measurement and monitoring in evidence.

Ministry for the Environment Biodiversity Award

This award recognises the biological diversity of the farming and growing business. It acknowledges the mahi of both the present and past guardians (Kaitiaki) of the land that have created an environment that encourages and allows biodiversity to thrive.

Norwood Farming Efficiency Award

This Award recognises the farmer or grower who is actively focused on resource use efficiency. It takes into account different types of efficiency such as equipment or fuel efficiency or precision agriculture and recognises those who are making data driven decisions to determine resource use.

Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award

This award recognises how farmers and growers manage a successful, sustainable farm business, including the use of business plans, benchmarking and succession planning. It also acknowledges engagement with industry professionals and networks that support long-term business sustainability.

Taranaki Regional Council Sustainability Award

This Award recognises the farmer demonstrates leadership and commitment to sustainable farming practices and environmental stewardship.

Regional coordinator.

Nic Carver
027 385 0440
taranaki@bfea.org.nz

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