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Environmental Leadership in Farming

This award recognises whole-farm approaches to environmental issues and innovations in farm practices, water management and land management in Southland. Judges are looking for clear leadership/innovation and action that has wins for the environment. All farmers/farms are eligible for this award.

Sponsored by Wynn Williams

A strong environmental focus combined with some innovative thinking is paying dividends for the owners of Glenrannoch Farm at Dipton. Chris and Serra Stewart have owned the farming business for around 20 years. Their son Jake and his wife Josephine have been involved during the past three years and are incrementally taking on more responsibilities for running the farm.

They run the 625ha sheep and beef farm that includes flats, rolling and steeper land. There are many shelter belts, some areas of retired gullies and lots of ponds and sediment traps in the gullies, which develop into waterways.

The farm continues to identify new opportunities to improve. This includes methods of wintering stock, increasing biodiversity habitat, reducing erosion and riparian planting. They are also involved in the Greater Dipton Catchment Group’s Carbon Neutral Dipton project, as one of the five partner farms that modelled scenarios to reduce on-farm emissions and shared the findings with the community in July.

Innovative winter grazing methods is a key area of change the Stewarts have implemented, with mixed species crops that largely maintain vegetation cover on slopes after sheep grazing. This helps reduce sediment and nutrient losses from winter crops. In addition, Chris has been designing and trialling his own plant protectors to help improve the survival of native trees and shrubs, illustrating their innovation and forward-thinking approach to on-farm challenges.

Carbon Neutral Dipton was the Greater Dipton Catchment Group’s first major project and focused on sharing information, starting conversations and getting people on the journey to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The project started in October 2022 and was completed in July 2023. It involved five Dipton farmers (three sheep and beef and two dairy), each with some buddies brainstorming exciting ways to reduce GHG emissions on their farms. Farm and forestry consultants helped model and evaluate the different ideas. Four to five scenarios were investigated per farm, based on ideas generated and ranged from reduced pastoral areas to grow forestry, changes in stock types, growing of arable crops to swap out pastoral land, and reductions in supplement feed imported. It was a really positive, farmer-led, practical project, which they hope will inspire their community and others across Southland and New Zealand.

As part of having a climate change focus, it also touched on water quality and improving biodiversity. The project has developed and matured into something really big and has shown that small steps can add up to big differences on farms and across catchments.

The group is very community focused, with a core committee of eight to ten people and a wider group of more than 100 people, who join in with events, workshops and projects.

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