Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Celebrate the people and places behind the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, from past winners and regional contacts to the farms and sponsors shaping your region.

Key dates.

Entries Open

1 July 2025

Entries Close

31 October 2025

Finalists announced

2 February 2026

Awards Event

25 March 2026

2026 Open Day

21 April 2027

Current and past BFEA winners.

2025 Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner

Blair Dyer and Steve Atkinson

Blair Dyer and Steve Atkinson

Kiwi Heights 
  • Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner 2025
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Hill Labs Agri-Science Award
  • Norwood Farming Efficiency Award
  • Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award
  • ZESPRI Kiwifruit Orchard Award
  • FMG Risk Management Award
Read their story

2025 Award Recipients

Brent and Antonia Mountfort

Mountfort Puriri Farm
  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
  • NZFET Biodiversity Award
  • Bay of Plenty Regional Council Farming for the Future Award
Read their story

Canice O’Sullivan and Georgia Mischefski-Gray

Ywari Farms
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • NZFET Innovation Award
Read their story

Gill and Fred Willis 

Talisker Orchard 
Read their story

2024 Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner

Kiri Tapsell

Kiri Tapsell

Pūkenga Farms
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Norwood Farming Efficiency Award
  • ZESPRI® Kiwifruit Orchard Award
Read their story

2024 Award Recipients

Jonathon Boyle

Four Oaks Farm
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
  • Bay of Plenty Regional Council Farming for the Future Award
Read their story

Mark Yortt and Greg Prince

Sunchaser Investments LP
  • Hill Labs Agri-Science Award
  • FMG Risk Management Award
Read their story

Murray & Cecilia Winters and Chris & Karly Deed

Mangorewa Farms
  • Bruce Fraser Memorial Award
Read their story

2023 Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner

Olivia Manusauloa and Josh Easton

Olivia Manusauloa and Josh Easton

Baygold Ltd
  • Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner 2023
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award
  • Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award
Read their story

2023 Award Recipients

​Elly Sharp, Ruan Nunes, ​David Stephenson & Francis Pauwels

Tirohanga Fruit Co Ltd
  • Norwood Farming Efficiency Award
  • ZESPRI® Kiwifruit Orchard Award
Read their story

Ken Goldsmith, Hinehou Timutimu and Tyson Kelly

Te Tawa Pāmu – Te Kotahitanga Dairying & Pāmu Kaiwhakahaere
  • Bay Of Plenty Regional Council Farming for the Future Award
Read their story

Shane & Alice and Shirley Armstrong

Armstrong Farming
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
  • NZFET Biodiversity Award
Read their story

2022 Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner

Helen Scott

Helen Scott

Whiritoa Orchards
  • Bay of Plenty Regional Supreme Winner 2022
  • Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award
  • Norwood Agri-Business Management Award
  • ZESPRI® Kiwifruit Orchard Award
Read their story

2022 Award Recipients

Dell, Ross and Roger Bawden

Oceanview Orchard
  • Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award
  • Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award
  • WaterForce Wise with Water Award
Read their story

John and Margaret Scrimgeour

Nikau Trust
  • Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award
Read their story

Steve and Paula Holdem

Holdem Farm
  • DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award
  • Massey University Innovation Award
Read their story

Winston Fleming

Kiwi Outback
  • Bay Of Plenty Regional Council Farming for the Future Award
Read their story

Entries are now open for the 2026 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

Enter now
Our regional partner

Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Committed to healthy land and waterways by supporting sustainable farm practices for the region.

Sustainable management of our land and water is the backbone of Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s mission, which is why we have sponsored the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards for the past 13 years.

These awards support and encourage the practices which will ensure we have healthy and sustainable resources on the land and water for both current and future generations.

We are facing some major challenges in our region to improve our waterways, particularly the Rotorua lakes and Tauranga Harbour, and the practical on-farm methods developed by the environmentally-conscious farmers who participate in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards are at the heart of this work.

We are impressed by our farmers’ willingness to look more closely at what they are doing on the land to protect their waterways, reducing nutrients, preventing erosion, managing pests and improving biodiversity. Most importantly they are willing to share their solutions with others.

Congratulations to John and Catherine Ford, Highlands Station, the first national winners of the 2015 Ballance Farm Environment Awards from the Bay of Plenty.  They have made us very proud.

Douglas Leeder – Chairman, Bay of Plenty Regional Council

View website

Bay of Plenty Regional Awards.

Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award

This Award focuses on the management of soil and nutrients.

Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award

This Award focuses on the management of soil and nutrients. A strong understanding of nutrients and nutrient budgeting is demonstrated. The impacts of nutrients and management practices on both soil fertility as well as surface and ground water are understood and well managed.

Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award

This Award is focused on the all-important people side of the farming and growing business.

Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award

This Award is focused on the all-important people side of the farming and growing business. It recognises the importance of staff management, succession, community involvement, health and safety and other practices associated with people management and wellbeing.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award

This Award recognises the livestock farmer who demonstrates a commitment to long-term land and animal stewardship.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand Livestock Farm Award

This Award recognises the livestock farmer who demonstrates a commitment to long-term land and animal stewardship. Considerations are made around the sustainable use of land, labour and capital resources. Livestock will be well cared for, with stock class and type managed appropriately to the land contour and soil type.

DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award

This Award recognises dairy farmers who demonstrate a strong commitment to managing, protecting and enhancing their environment.

DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award

This Award recognises dairy farmers who demonstrate a strong commitment to managing, protecting and enhancing their environment. The award focuses on positive, long term, environmentally sustainable on-farm actions. Entrants will demonstrate high standards of environmental care and sustainable use of the land, stock, labour and capital resources.

Hill Labs Agri-Science Award

This Award recognises excellence in the use of science and monitoring to optimise productivity and minimise environmental impacts.

Hill Labs Agri-Science Award

This Award recognises excellence in the use of science and monitoring to optimise productivity and minimise environmental impacts. A good understanding of soil, water, plant and crop protection should be demonstrated, with supporting measurement and monitoring in evidence.

Ministry for the Environment Biodiversity Award

This award recognises the biological diversity of the farming and growing business.

Ministry for the Environment Biodiversity Award

This award recognises the biological diversity of the farming and growing business. It acknowledges the mahi of both the present and past guardians (Kaitiaki) of the land that have created an environment that encourages and allows biodiversity to thrive.

Northland Regional Council Water Quality Enhancement Award

This Award recognises initiatives taken to protect and enhance water quality and biodiversity values within the water that flows through and from the property.

Northland Regional Council Water Quality Enhancement Award

This Award recognises initiatives taken to protect and enhance water quality and biodiversity values within the water that flows through and from the property. This includes initiatives limiting pollutant inputs into the water through good land management practices. For example, soil conservation, wetland protection and enhancement as well as implementing riparian management practices.

Norwood Farming Efficiency Award

This Award recognises the farmer or grower who is actively focused on resource use efficiency.

Norwood Farming Efficiency Award

This Award recognises the farmer or grower who is actively focused on resource use efficiency. It takes into account those who may be focusing on different types of efficiency (e.g. equipment efficiency, fuel efficiency), those using precision agriculture and/or those who are actively making data driven decisions to determine how much resource to use.

Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award

This Award recognises the approach that farmers and growers take to accomplish the important management practices of operating a successful farm and growing business.

Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award

This Award recognises the approach that farmers and growers take to accomplish the important management practices of operating a successful farm and growing business. This includes the development and use of a business plan, benchmarking and succession planning. It may also involve the use of industry professionals and networks to support the sustainability of the business.

Regional coordinator.

Marie Paterson
022 304 4332
bop@bfea.org.nz