Planning for the 2026 New Zealand Arable Awards is well underway...all we need now are your nominations.
Tough times don’t diminish growers’ skills and effort, so think about who stands out in your area as a cereal, seed or maize growers and nominate them for this year’s Arable Awards.
Following huge support in 2024, it was decided to hold the event every second year. Organiser Colin Hurst, an arable farmer who is also National Vice President of Federated Farmers, says the decision to move away from an annual event was supported by sponsor’s and organisers.
“These types of events are expensive and time consuming and we didn’t want them to become a grind for organisers, sponsors or attendees. All the background work for the 2026 event has been done now, so all we need are the nominations. I strongly urge everyone in the sector to head to the Arable Awards website, check out the seven categories and send in their nominations.”
The seven open categories and their sponsors are:
- Maize Grower of the Year: Pioneer Brand Products
- Cereal Grower of the Year: Bayer
- Seed Grower of the Year: PGG Wrightson Seeds
- Agronomist of the Year: Seed and Grain NZ
- Innovation: Barenbrug
- Positive Environmental Impact: FMG
- Working Together: South Pacific Seeds
The Arable Farmer of the Year is selected from the three grower awards winners, while inductees to the Arable Hall of Fame are chosen by the Awards’ Organising Committee.
The 2024 Arable Farmer of the Year was Simon Nitschke, from Marton (see image above). See all 2024 winners here.
Nominations close on 1 June, so head to the website, download a nomination form and get busy!
Tickets for the Award dinner, which is being held at the Wigram Air Force Museum on 20 August 2026, can also be purchased from the awards website.