2008 NSW Farmer & Young Farmer of the Year
About the awards
The NSW Farmer of the Year and NSW Young Farmer of the Year Awards are designed to recognise excellence in farming within NSW. A joint initiative by NSW Farmers’ Association and NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), and supported by the royal Agricultural Society and the Land, the awards have a particular focus on acknowledging farmers who combine sustainable environment practices with profitable production.
To further develop and improve their farming enterprise:
Farmer of the Year will be awarded $10,000
Young Farmer of the Year will be awarded $5,000
The awards were presented at the NSW Farmers’ Association Annual Conference dinner held on July 30, 2008.
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Nigel & Kate Kerin, Yeoval Nigel Kerin owns and manages a cell grazing operation at Yeoval in the state’s Central West with his wife Kate, holistically managing the operations enterprises including sheep, wool, cattle trading and pasture cropping. They also co-own Gullengamble Merino stud, where sheep are wrinkle-free so don’t require mulesing or flystrike protection, and genetics are selected for worm resistance. Their mission statement is to produce and market high quality products in sufficient quantity to provide a good standard of living for their family. |
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Tally Matthews, Ebenezer Tally farms two properties in the Hawkesbury region at Ebenezer; one a 50 acre property he has leased since the age of 14 years for turf production and vegetables; and the other a 50 acre property he has recently purchased primarily for turf production. The major issues for Tally include the upfront capital required to enter commercial farming activities singularly, without intergenerational support or family involvement. To achieve this, Tally has pursued a professional external career as an agronomist for the past 10 years with a view to entering the farming profession as an enterprise. As part of Tally’s role as an agronomist, he is heavily involved with the DPI’s Sydney Basin Field Vegetable Demonstration Farm, the tangible results of which allows him to be at the cutting-face of new technologies to then incorporate into his own farming systems. |
