April 21, 2025 • 7 mins
We catch up with one of the two national on-farm judges for the Ballance Farm Environment Awards to talk about the diversity of the regional winners, and what's changed (and hasn't) in farming over the past 20 years.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, all eleven and regional winners have been found in
the Balance Farm Environment Awards. The National on farm judging
is in the thick of it, the halfway through it.
Basically now joining me is one of the two judges
tripping around the country Warwick ketto good afternoon, Warwick.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Good afternoon from a sort of funny town today after
lots of range. I think filers and grass are probably
happy with the rain we've been heaving recently. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Absolutely. Looking at Niewer's drought monitor map on the internet, like,
honestly it has been so angry read for a while
and a lot of those places have now gone clear,
so we have well and truly broken the drought. It
makes it for very interesting on farm judging. If you've
got not much grass around Warwick. How is the judging
(00:49):
process going so far?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, as you say it's halfway through, we've pretty much
been doing all the upper half of the North Island
to day and so we've got the Taranaki and the
South Island to do in a week or two time.
But the challenge and exciting thing this year is how
diverse the group is. You know, we've got deer farming,
(01:15):
we've got dairy. We've got leafy greens or vegetables, beef,
kiwi fruit high country down in Otago, sheep and beef
and arable. I don't it's the most diverse group cohort
we've ever had. So it's actually very enjoyable to go
and visit the different enterprises.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Absolutely, but you know it makes it pretty challenging for
yourself and Jamie string you know, how do you compare
apples and oranges?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, the way I look at is, at a very
high level, they all use the same resources. They all
use people, land, climates, cash and so part of it is,
you know, the same paths of land you could put
different farming people on and they'd come up with different enterprises.
(02:03):
So at a very broad level you're actually looking at
how they do that, and particularly with how they're doing
it relative to their own sector. So it's about resource
use efficiency and they're all exceptional at it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, Now this year it is particularly special Worwick because
the awards basically started thirty years ago in the White
Cuttle A man the name of Gordon Stevenson and a
bunch of farmers around him kicked it all off.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah. Well I went to the Whitecatta Awards this year
and there was a celebratory function for them, and yeah,
it was quite insightful in terms of starting something like this.
And I remember when we first got involved about twenty
odd years ago. You know, one of the things with
the Farm Environment Awards is how many farmers might you
(02:58):
marginalize talking about environmental issues and it shows how much
their farming sectors progressed to These environmental issues are very
mainstream now, whereas if you go back to the two
thousands or the nineteen nineties, you know, we're peering, planting
and protection of ecosystems was not a common practice at all.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It would have been a novelty, and now it is
very very common around the country. In your experience, what
has changed over time and maybe what actually hasn't.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
For me? Some of the big changes, particularly as around labor,
particularly the pivot from being often very farmer staff were
on a progression to ownership. Where's a lot of them
now are employees and so and so how they managed
staff has certainly changed a lot. Health and safety. You know,
(03:58):
we were whizzing around on wheelers without helmets back in
the day, whereas now helmets are the norm. Commonly worn
using side both sides. The environment. Again, if you think
back then stock exclusion with the clean streams accord was
the thing, whereas now you're seeing planting of riparian areas
(04:20):
and the more progressive ones are now moving into a
predator control, so quite a focus on biodiversity. And the
other one you see commonly is the farming farming journey
that we've gone through with climate change with greenhouse gases
and whether you're irrespective whether you sit on it, what
(04:40):
you've seen is the mindset change towards a very whereas
if the market wants something, what's the opportunity and presenting
products that the market wants. And so that's the one
thing that probably hasn't changed is the farmer grows that
we need have always been looking at market opportunities. How
(05:00):
do they either value add to their own products, but
it wool or meat or dairy, either directly themselves, direct
to market or indirectly through their retailing businesses on farm tourism,
interesting has always been there, the number them doing that again,
the share in the community wide a primary industry and
(05:22):
community interests. So some things have changed the same, the
more values that people have, but the farming contexts changed,
and you know when you change, you know, farm productivity
changes one percent improves one percent per annum, and so
it's very incremental. You don't notice it. And one of
the things we've been doing is revisiting properties that we
(05:44):
might have revisited five or ten years ago. And when
you go back and revisit them, particularly when you've had
videos and photos of it, it's it's quite interesting to
see their reaction because they don't see that incremental change
whereas we do, and it's quite impressive to see where
we were going.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Just finally, I remember when we hit our national judging
for the Dairy Industry Awards back in twenty thirteen. Our
farmer and his cat bit one of the judges while
we were having the interview at the end of it,
what's the weirdest thing you've encountered?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh my gosh, putting you on the spot here, you certainly, yeah, yeah,
probably Jamie and I traveling together, two men, as Jamie
used to cause the traveling white base, And yeah, two
men traveling together for three weeks is probably the most
(06:40):
unusual thing, you know, having dinners together and breakfasts together,
and she tolerating each other. But it's a pretty special
relationship with Jamie, Like you know, a man who could
roll across crook straight I call the rental in New Zealand.
I find him quite inspiring if I do the entrance
as well. But he's a pretty ete character and so
(07:01):
for me, the thing is, it's probably not unusual, but
understanding how someone unique like Jamie operates.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, and hey, look better you traveling with Jamie strength
and with Jamie McKay. I'll give you that one.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Who all agreed on that one?
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Warwick ketto one of the two national judges alongside the
wonderful and remarkable Jamie Strang. Not that you're not wonderful
and remarkable Warwick, but really appreciate your time and good
luck with the rest of those Balanced Farm Environment Awards judging.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Thanks rowing up
Well, all eleven and regional winners have been found in
the Balance Farm Environment Awards. The National on farm judging
is in the thick of it, the halfway through it.
Basically now joining me is one of the two judges
tripping around the country Warwick ketto good afternoon, Warwick.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Good afternoon from a sort of funny town today after
lots of range. I think filers and grass are probably
happy with the rain we've been heaving recently. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Absolutely. Looking at Niewer's drought monitor map on the internet, like,
honestly it has been so angry read for a while
and a lot of those places have now gone clear,
so we have well and truly broken the drought. It
makes it for very interesting on farm judging. If you've
got not much grass around Warwick. How is the judging
(00:49):
process going so far?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, as you say it's halfway through, we've pretty much
been doing all the upper half of the North Island
to day and so we've got the Taranaki and the
South Island to do in a week or two time.
But the challenge and exciting thing this year is how
diverse the group is. You know, we've got deer farming,
(01:15):
we've got dairy. We've got leafy greens or vegetables, beef,
kiwi fruit high country down in Otago, sheep and beef
and arable. I don't it's the most diverse group cohort
we've ever had. So it's actually very enjoyable to go
and visit the different enterprises.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Absolutely, but you know it makes it pretty challenging for
yourself and Jamie string you know, how do you compare
apples and oranges?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Well, the way I look at is, at a very
high level, they all use the same resources. They all
use people, land, climates, cash and so part of it is,
you know, the same paths of land you could put
different farming people on and they'd come up with different enterprises.
(02:03):
So at a very broad level you're actually looking at
how they do that, and particularly with how they're doing
it relative to their own sector. So it's about resource
use efficiency and they're all exceptional at it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, Now this year it is particularly special Worwick because
the awards basically started thirty years ago in the White
Cuttle A man the name of Gordon Stevenson and a
bunch of farmers around him kicked it all off.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah. Well I went to the Whitecatta Awards this year
and there was a celebratory function for them, and yeah,
it was quite insightful in terms of starting something like this.
And I remember when we first got involved about twenty
odd years ago. You know, one of the things with
the Farm Environment Awards is how many farmers might you
(02:58):
marginalize talking about environmental issues and it shows how much
their farming sectors progressed to These environmental issues are very
mainstream now, whereas if you go back to the two
thousands or the nineteen nineties, you know, we're peering, planting
and protection of ecosystems was not a common practice at all.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It would have been a novelty, and now it is
very very common around the country. In your experience, what
has changed over time and maybe what actually hasn't.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
For me? Some of the big changes, particularly as around labor,
particularly the pivot from being often very farmer staff were
on a progression to ownership. Where's a lot of them
now are employees and so and so how they managed
staff has certainly changed a lot. Health and safety. You know,
(03:58):
we were whizzing around on wheelers without helmets back in
the day, whereas now helmets are the norm. Commonly worn
using side both sides. The environment. Again, if you think
back then stock exclusion with the clean streams accord was
the thing, whereas now you're seeing planting of riparian areas
(04:20):
and the more progressive ones are now moving into a
predator control, so quite a focus on biodiversity. And the
other one you see commonly is the farming farming journey
that we've gone through with climate change with greenhouse gases
and whether you're irrespective whether you sit on it, what
(04:40):
you've seen is the mindset change towards a very whereas
if the market wants something, what's the opportunity and presenting
products that the market wants. And so that's the one
thing that probably hasn't changed is the farmer grows that
we need have always been looking at market opportunities. How
(05:00):
do they either value add to their own products, but
it wool or meat or dairy, either directly themselves, direct
to market or indirectly through their retailing businesses on farm tourism,
interesting has always been there, the number them doing that again,
the share in the community wide a primary industry and
(05:22):
community interests. So some things have changed the same, the
more values that people have, but the farming contexts changed,
and you know when you change, you know, farm productivity
changes one percent improves one percent per annum, and so
it's very incremental. You don't notice it. And one of
the things we've been doing is revisiting properties that we
(05:44):
might have revisited five or ten years ago. And when
you go back and revisit them, particularly when you've had
videos and photos of it, it's it's quite interesting to
see their reaction because they don't see that incremental change
whereas we do, and it's quite impressive to see where
we were going.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Just finally, I remember when we hit our national judging
for the Dairy Industry Awards back in twenty thirteen. Our
farmer and his cat bit one of the judges while
we were having the interview at the end of it,
what's the weirdest thing you've encountered?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh my gosh, putting you on the spot here, you certainly, yeah, yeah,
probably Jamie and I traveling together, two men, as Jamie
used to cause the traveling white base, And yeah, two
men traveling together for three weeks is probably the most
(06:40):
unusual thing, you know, having dinners together and breakfasts together,
and she tolerating each other. But it's a pretty special
relationship with Jamie, Like you know, a man who could
roll across crook straight I call the rental in New Zealand.
I find him quite inspiring if I do the entrance
as well. But he's a pretty ete character and so
(07:01):
for me, the thing is, it's probably not unusual, but
understanding how someone unique like Jamie operates.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, and hey, look better you traveling with Jamie strength
and with Jamie McKay. I'll give you that one.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Who all agreed on that one?
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Warwick ketto one of the two national judges alongside the
wonderful and remarkable Jamie Strang. Not that you're not wonderful
and remarkable Warwick, but really appreciate your time and good
luck with the rest of those Balanced Farm Environment Awards judging.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Thanks rowing up
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