Baygold takes out supreme Ballance award

Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards winners Baygold General manager Leighton Oats (right) and Coach Road Orchard orchard manager Matt Nelson (left).

A Paengaroa-based kiwifruit operation took out the supreme title at the 2016 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards on Friday night.

BAYGOLD Limited, a large-scale kiwifruit operation which is owned by shareholders and directors who make up equity partnership Baygold Joint Venture partnership, also collected the Hill Laboratories Harvest Award, CB Norwood Distributors Agri-Business Management Award and a Bay of Plenty Regional Council Award.

Judges described BAYGOLD Ltd as a resilient and well-governed business that "survived Psa by demonstrating excellence and innovation".

BAYGOLD owns two Te Puke orchards totalling just over 100ha - Coach Road Orchard and La Vigna - and expects to harvest 1.4 million trays of G3 kiwifruit this season.

This is a massive increase on the 30,000 trays harvested in 2013 when the kiwifruit industry was hit by the devastating vine disease, Psa-V.

Other winners in the 2016 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards were:
Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award, WaterForce Integrated Management Award, Bay of Plenty Regional Council: Shane and June Birchall, Daniel Birchall and Megan Schutt, Waionehu Farm Limited, Rotorua.

Zespri® Kiwifruit Orchard Award, PGG Wrightson People in Agriculture Award, Farm Stewardship Award in partnership with the QEII National Trust and the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust: Peter and Marnie Anstis, Anstis Orchards I and II, Opotiki.

Massey University Innovation Award: Phillipa Wright and Stephen Kenna, KWKIWI Limited, Katikati.

LIC Dairy Farm Award: Gary and Debra Rowlands, GDR Farm Limited, Whakatane.