They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So apologies, glass-half-full girl Emma Crutchley, but I’m going to filch one of your lines from the following pages. The one about accepting the things you cannot change — ‘‘because you could dwell on them forever and they make you really unhappy.’’

There is also little farmers and growers can do about weather, commodity prices — although a shout-out to those fabulous southern on-farm businesses which are diversifying their wool clip into an array of home and fashion products — I’m looking at you The Clip, Ater, Lora & Flok, Mt Nicholas, Davaar and Co, West Ridge, and McIvor Hill to name just a few — and ever-increasing on-farm costs.

But what we all can do is take a minute to focus on the positives and raise a glass — be it of Taieri pasture-raised milk, a Central Otago pinot noir, or a whisky produced from Southland barley — to our Rural Champions; those who have chosen life on the land, with all the challenges that entails while also making their rural communities a better place to live.

We can heed the words of mental health champion Sir John Kirwan, who officially launched the Otago Daily Times-Rural Life Rural Champions campaign at the Wānaka A&P Show in March by encouraging farmers to stop worrying about factors out of their control, share their issues, get off the farm, and do other things.

Last year’s Year of the Farmer campaign was a resounding success, capped off by naming the indomitable Myfanwy Alexander, from Duntroon, as our inaugural Rural Champion. Since then, Myfanwy has continued her fabulous work in the agricultural sector, including launching a podcast with her friend Emily Walker called Ag in Conversation, and being named a finalist in the Dairy Woman of the Year. I am excited to see what other great things are around the corner for her.

It seemed that Year of the Farmer would be hard to top but, after making the call for nominations for our 2024 Rural Champions campaign, they flooded in from the north and south of the South Island, and the east and west.

This year, we added an additional category — those who work in rural support; the often behind-the-scenes folk critical to the smooth running of farming and growing operations — and we were delighted with the breadth of nominations.

During these uncertain times, the stories captured in this publication are a salient reminder of all that is good about New Zealand’s rural sector. Humble, hardworking folk who persevere among a myriad of challenges, adapting and innovating to sustain their farms, support their families, and contribute to the wellbeing of their communities.

Now our judges — Myfanwy, Rabobank’s acting chief sustainability officer Blake Holgate, a representative from Landpro, and myself — have the hard task of deliberating.

In October, one outstanding food producer will be named our Rural Champion — along with our champion rural services provider — and we will again celebrate their contribution to the rural sector. I can’t wait.

Sally Rae

Business and Rural Editor

sally.rae@odt.co.nz

Farmers and Growers