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Angus and Sue Galletly are looking forward to sharing their story with consumers in China.
The Galletly family, who farm at Waiau, won a trip to China in May after being named the winners of the 2019 Silver Fern Farms Plate to Pasture Award in November.
''What we want the public to hear is that we are grass feed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free and environmentally friendly,'' Mr Galletly said.
''That's the story we as farmers have to get out to the world.''
But the excitement of the trip will have to wait as the Mr Galletly prepares for his term as president at the Amuri A&P Show at Rotherham on Saturday.
The Galletlys farm the 2300ha Hossock Downs property, near Waiau, in partnership with their son and daughter-in-law, Hamish and Debby Galletly.
The couple were both born and bred in Waiau, where they have lived and farmed for most of their lives.
They bought Hossock Downs in 1989 and have added to it over the years.
They now run 10,500 stock units of Romney sheep and Angus-cross cattle and all the progeny are fattened on farm.
The farm was a mix of irrigated flats, rolling downs and steep hill country, which gave the farm both variety and flexibility, especially in a dry year.
''The irrigation is a godsend in the dry years and it's only used as a top-up.''
Mr Galletly said the plate-to-pasture award judged everything from the product supplied to Silver Fern Farms to environmental practices, with the farm being a finalist in both the sheep and cattle categories.
''We got interviewed on our farming practices and we had to cook the meat for them. We prepared them a lamb salad and we were judged on that.
''At the end of the day I don't think we do anything special, but we are passionate about what we produce and I think that's an underlying factor.''
On the China trip they will study the Chinese red-meat industry, ''right from the shipping containers to the distribution and some of the people adding value on our meat, and we will visit the supermarkets and restaurants''.
-By David Hill
