We believe climate positive agriculture transforms farming systems to be more resilient against the impacts of extreme weather, shifting rainfall patterns, and increased pest and disease pressure while protecting our natural resources. Farmers need tools and resources based on the latest science and technology to feed and fuel the world while minimising environmental impacts. Through sustainable innovation, a focus on biodiversity and regenerative agriculture, and measurable efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we can make strides toward a more climate positive, sustainable agriculture industry for generations to come.
Fostering Climate Positive Agriculture
Farmers are leading the way in Sustainable Agriculture
Farmers around the globe are leading the way in scaling sustainable practices that can help to improve the land and environment. We’re here to highlight early adopters, and to help share those practices with others around the globe. Together, we can make climate positive agriculture productive, profitable, environmentally beneficial, and equitable.
Andrew Darling - South Canterbury
REGIONAL CLIMATE POSITIVE LEADER 2022
Nominated by H&T Agronomics
A focus on soil health and grid sampling has led to higher yields, from lower inputs, on the Darling enterprise, at Timaru, in South Canterbury.
Andrew Darling farms 500 hectares of arable land on the coast, growing wheat, barley, ryegrass, spring options, sunflowers, and oilseed rape through a four-to-five-year rotation. The program has led to increased organic matter and carbon levels.
Andrew West - Ashburton / Canterbury
Nominated by H&T Agronomics
A major change, more than a decade ago, has produced excellent results for Andrew West, at Wakanui, in Mid Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand.
Andrew is the third generation on the 900-hectare arable farm and fourth generation in the area and for many years ran a heavily conventional style enterprise.
“We used a lot of superphosphates, and it was a standard program every year,” he said. “We felt our yields had hit a wall and it was getting a lot harder to achieve the same thing. We were having more weed problems and more issues with diseases and insects.”
Adrian & Pauline Ball - Waikato
Nominated by Genetic Technologies/Pioneer Brands
A conscious decision to move to sustainable farming practices has enriched and challenged dairy farmers, Adrian and Pauline Ball, at Tirau at Denley Farms in the Waikato region on New Zealand’s North Island.
Adrian Ball said the family property was converted to dairy in 1995 and they have developed it to encompass production as well focus on sustainability.
“In 2003, we were a pretty intensive dairy farm,” he said. “We won a national farm business award for dairy and were very production-focused.”
Michael Wentworth - Marlborough
Nominated by New Zealand Winegrowers
The World’s most sustainable winery and the World’s best Chardonnay were the stated goals of Yealands Wines at its launch in 2008 and the business has been following that path ever since.
Located at Marlborough, on the top western edge of New Zealand’s South Island, 85 per cent of Yealands Wines is made up of Sauvignon Blanc, with another 12 varieties also incorporated into the program.
General Manager for Sustainability and Strategic Projects, Michael Wentworth, said the company had the ability, right from the start, to incorporate technology into the winery build and into the vineyard practices to achieve their sustainability goals.
Paul Robinson - Hawkes Bay
Nominated by New Zealand Winegrowers
Matt Sutherland - Marlborough
Nominated by New Zealand Winegrowers
Mike Saunders - Waipara / North Canterbury
Nominated by New Zealand Winegrowers
Michael & Karen Williams - Carterton
Nominated by PGG Wrightson Seeds
A passion for the environment, and their own land, influences short and long-term choices on the “Ahiaruhe Farm” property of Michael and Karen Williams, at Carterton in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand’s North Island.
The couple run a 450-hectare mixed arable livestock farm on the Ruamahanga River, growing milling wheat and malting barley, seed crops of peas, ryegrass, red clover, and yellow flower brassicas, and run 7000 lambs and 200 beef cattle.
Michael said they have implemented a wide range of innovations to achieve their sustainability goals, including an early switch to no-till.