Second time’s a charm

Nearly a decade ago, Northland farmers Andrew and Vicky Booth of Jade Dairies decided to give entering the Ballance Farm Environment Awards a go. “I had gone to a previous awards ceremony and found the winners so inspirational, entering seemed like a good way to try and understand what we know and why we farm.” 

“We knew we weren’t up to the calibre of the previous entrants, but we thought we would give it a crack,” says Andrew. 

While they didn’t make it through, the presentation created a base-line for the farm, and a list of things they wanted to do. Five or so years later Andrew says when they started to prepare for entering the awards again, they were thrilled to see what they had achieved and the very real difference it was making to the farm. 

This time, they did win, taking out the Regional Supreme Award at the Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards in 2023. 

Third generation farmers, the Booths have made a significant investment into creating a farm that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. This includes creating a new wetland area, active pest management, and preserving natural areas of native bush – encouraging the return of endangered native birds. They work with local schools to get 2,000 native plants into the ground each year. 

Andrew says an important lesson they learnt between first entering and then entering and winning is that the time is never going to be right. “You can’t wait to be ready for something, because there is always more to do. There is always the next thing, and then the next thing, so when we had some tasks starting to line up, we decided to enter.” 

Andrew still gets surprised at the thought of being the 2023 Northland Regional Supreme Award winner, mostly because of the high calibre of such a diverse range of entrants from the region. Andrew and Vicky were being judged against vineyards, cropping and beef farming operations, among a few of the other entrants. 

“We all do such different things, but underpinning the work are some common threads,” he says. Notably, it’s about how farmers look after their people. 

“People are valued across everyone’s businesses, and it was interesting to see how important it is to look after people and make sure there are great pathways for them. Without good people alongside you, farming is tricky. We all want to keep good people and so we really look after them.” 

For the Booth’s that means understanding the value of having good staff and providing the support to keep them. “It’s better for your business if you can,” he says. 

Andrew was motivated to enter the awards again for another reason as well. “I want to be able to stand up for farmers who are all doing fantastic stuff, but which often goes unseen and unheard. They just do it because it’s the right thing to do.” 

Being a DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassador and involved with the Dairy Environmental Leaders Group and Northland Dairy Development Trust gives Andrew more platforms to advocate from. “They are empowering programmes to be part of, and I enjoy being able to spread the message about the inspirational things that so many farmers are doing.” 

And if that wasn’t enough, Andrew has also taken on the challenge of being a judge for the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. “I said yes because it gave me a chance to go and look at all the other farms and see what they are doing,” he laughs. 

He quickly learnt that no matter how diverse the farming operations, key criteria exist regardless. “There is the whole spectrum of sustainability that farmers need to meet, from looking after the environment, to people management, and the state of the business.” 

What he’s learnt from the experience has been invaluable. “It’s reinforced the fact that there is not one way to do a job. There are so many different ways to get the same end results and people tailor their farm or operation to the way that suits them best. 

“The end result is still good sustainable outcomes.” 

His message for farmers thinking about entering is to do it, regardless of winning or not. “It’s a great way to reinforce what you are already doing, and to celebrate the successes you’ve achieved.”