THE winner of NSW Farmer of the Year will be announced at a lunch in Sydney today, Thursday, December 8.
Meet the four finalists:
Casey Cooper, Tingha
A second generation beekeeper Mr Cooper is setting the pace when it comes to first world industry standards, yet he reckons his traceability system is so simple a “10 year old could run it with help from a kindergartner”.
Peter Matuszny, Taree
Open and accountable hen rearing has cemented the reputation among consumers that Manning Valley Free Range Eggs, Taree, is doing a humane job of providing protein to the masses.
Jock Nivison, Walcha
Jock Nivison is the first to admit he oversees a pretty diverse operation – the Yalgoo Partnership. The operations is divided into five enterprises: a seed stock Poll Hereford stud, a seedstock merino stud, commercial fine wool, an interstate partnership of seedstock merino and a commercial beef operation.
Nick Arena, Bobs Farm
Mr Arena owns the largest Barramundi farm in NSW. “It surprises a lot of people to know that about 70 per cent of the Barramundi sold in Australia is imported, frozen product,” he said.
The winner of the 2016 Farmer of the Year will receive $10,000 and finalists will each receive $2,000. The winner will be announced later this year.
The award is supported by NSW Farmers, NSW Department of Primary Industries, The Land and SafeWork NSW.
