North Otago's Mitchell and Webster Group has been named supreme winner of the 2013 Otago Ballance farm environment awards.
The group is made up of two businesses - Mitchell and Webster Ltd, which specialises in the production of sunflower and canary seed which is used by Topflite Ltd, a bird seed and small-animal feed business.
Peter Mitchell and Nick Webster run the farm's operations, while Jock Webster is in charge of the Topflite factory. Ross Mitchell has recently retired. The two businesses are owned 50:50 by the two family groups.
The prime focus is intensive cropping with a range of cereal crops such as feed wheat, barley, ryegrass, hybrid rape, sunflower, canary seed along with lucerne, grass and maize for local silage. Topflite sells more than 1600 tonnes of birdseed and small-animal feed per year, some of which is exported to Australia.
As well as the supreme award, Mitchell and Webster Group also received the Hill Laboratories harvest award, Massey University discovery award and the Ballance Agri-Nutrients nutrient management award at a function in Wanaka last night. The Mitchell and Webster families will host a field day in North Otago on May 15.
Other farm environment award winners were. -Beef and Lamb New Zealand livestock farm award, Otago Regional Council sustainable resource management award and Alliance Group quality livestock award: Alistair and Duncan Campbell and families, Earnscleugh Station, Alexandra.
LIC dairy farm award and Meridian Energy excellence award: Terry and Jacqui Carr, Argyll Dairy Farm, Clydevale.
PGG Wrightson land and life award and WaterForce integrated water management award: Stuart and Lorraine and Graeme and Alison Duncan, Penvose Farms, Wedderburn.
Donaghys farm stewardship award: Tom and Jan Pinckney, Northburn Station, Cromwell.
