As a farmer and stud sheep breeder for more than 60 years, the land and livestock was his life and it was to him that I always turned first to gauge his thoughts.
A typical hard-working humble farmer, a nod and a ‘‘that’s good’’ usually meant I was on the right track.
The column was driven by a lack of acknowledgement for those in the primary sector and I wrote of the need to restore pride in being a farmer, otherwise there would be no incentive for the next generation, or even some of the current generation, to farm the land. As a farmer’s daughter, I have first-hand experience of life on the land and those whose life is the land.
I have seen my father farm through horrendous North Otago droughts, of being out at all hours of the day and night in inclement weather during lambing season, and putting stock ahead of self.
Most latterly, there has been a feeling of overwhelmingness, of angst and frustration for farming folk, with a raft of regulations and a lack of recognition from the Beehive of the importance of the sector and acknowledgement of the hard mahi that goes on daily on farms around the country.
Where are the plaudits for those who spend their days doing their best to create an environmentally and economically sustainable future for the industry, which remains the engine room of the economy?
So here at the Otago Daily Times and Rural Life, we decided to officially make 2023 the Year of the Farmer. It was our way of acknowledging the contribution of grass-roots farmers and growers and to salute our food-producing heroes; heroes like my father Barrie who devoted his life to the farming sector, and who died at home on the farm last month.
I would like to personally thank the people featured in the following pages, who usually much prefer being out of the limelight, for sharing their passion for the industry with myself and my team — Alice, Shawn and Tim. I would also like to thank our YOTF sponsors, along with our YOTF team at the ODT, for sharing my vision and embracing the initiative with gusto.
Thanks also to my fellow judges Loshni Manikam, Matt Chisholm and the Landpro team who now have the unenviable task of whittling down our semi-finalists to just five finalists, people who make their rural communities a better place to live. Those finalists will then be profiled at length in the Otago Daily Times before one outstanding rural champion is named as the winner of the Year of the Farmer in October.
Don't forget to nominate your favourite farmer or grower for the Farmlands' People's Choice award
This publication is an inspirational read and it makes me proud to be a farmer’s daughter and to have the opportunity to work with amazing people within an amazing sector every day. This one’s for you Barrie. I hope you all enjoy it.
