The boy from Bonshaw who grew up with cropping on the Dumaresq and went on to influence a new generation of farmers was awarded the Brownhill Cup at AgQuip on Wednesday.
Mr Kneipp, awarded posthumously by the Department of Primary Industries, was remembered for his drive and vigour in bringing modern farming practices to the north of the state and in particular the Liverpool plains around Gunnedah.
As a school leaver he joined the department as a field assistant at Inverell in 1971, then completing his further education by correspondence, including the study of plant pathology from the University of New England at Armidale.
During that time he worked as a seed production officer in Goulburn then transferred to Dubbo before coming to Coonamble as the district agronomist in 1981 after completing his advanced irrigation certificate.
From the time he arrived at Gunnedah in 1985 Mr Kneipp brought with him a desire to advance farming on the Liverpool Plains, always with the motto of sustainable and economic practice.
After travelling to Canada and the US he brought back ideas of no-till cultivation to conserve soil moisture, which was rapidly endorsed by the farming community and he introduced the widespread use of fertiliser to address nitrogen deficiencies in pulse crops - now part of best practice farming.
Mr Kneipp's vision was to get farmers talking to each other and sharing experiences as a way to lift sustainable and economically viable production in the district.
"John had a great respect and regard for farming families of the Liverpool Plains," said Gordon Brownhill.
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