Lincoln competition for sheep farmers

Press, 8 February 1985, Page 22

Lincoln competition for sheep farmers

South Island sheep farmers are being invited to enter this year’s Lincoln College Foundation annual farmers’ award. The farmer showing the best return on capital over the last five years will be given a cash prize for an overseas study tour. This is the third year of the competition, which is held in conjunction with the Lincoln College Farmers’ Conference. Entries for the competition close on April 15, and applications can be made to Lincoln College, local offices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Rural Bank and Federated Farmers. Farmers entering the competition must gain at least 80 per cent of revenue from sheep or sheep and cattle and must winter at least 750 sheep on their farms which must be an ordinary sheep farm not run together with any other farm. Capital will be assessed as land, buildings and improvements at July 1 last year, the market value of livestock on closing stock numbers, and other assets

shown at June 30 last year. Technical performance, innovation and the appearance of the farm will also be taken into account A jointly-owned farm can nominate one farmer to enter for the award and cash prize. Each farmer in the competition will be visited by representatives of the Lincoln College Foundation, the Rural Bank and Federated Farmers. Five finalists will be chosen and will have to face the judges at the Farmers Conference at Lincoln College in early July. Each finalist will have to present a 20-minute summary to the judges at the conference. The winner will have to take up the travel award within 15 months and report to the foundation trustees within three months of returning to New Zealand from overseas.

The Lincoln College extension officer, Mr Don Crabb, said that this year’s award should give a boost to sheep farming. “Sheep farming is going through a trough at present and this should give en-

couragement to practical farmers,” he said. Mr Crabb said the first annual farmers’ award was for irrigation farming, and this had attracted 18 entries. Last year, the award was for farmers who had been on their first farm for at least five years — there were about 18 entries for this also, he said. The intention of the award was to recognise outstanding and innovative farmers who were providing leadership in farming, and who seemed likely to benefit from study overseas. The Lincoln College Foundation was established to mark the centenary of the college in 1978. The main objective of the foundation was to encourage those who could contribute to the development of primary land-based industries in New Zealand. The scope of the foundation awards was extended two years ago to establishing the annual farmers’ award. The annual farmers’ award competition is restricted to those farming in the South Island.