The 40-year veteran Syd Worsfold, who was born and lived in Greendale all his life, was inducted at the Arable Industry Awards in Christchurch last week.
In the presentation he was described as providing a voice for growers in his many voluntary roles, working tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcomes for them.
Mr Worsfold holds the record as the longest-serving United Wheat Growers director and was an inaugural member of the Foundation for Arable Research (Far) board.
The fifth generation farmer has won praise for his willingness to support and mentor any grower needing help or advice.
Tributes said he balanced strong opinions with an open mind. He has also spent many hours every year assessing frost damage claims, when he should have been concentrating on his own farm.
During a 30-year stint with United Wheat Growers he was the chairman for five years.
The former Federated Farmers Arable vice-chairman was the wheat industry research representative for 20 years and represented wheat growers on other committees.
He joins long-serving scientist Dr Phil Rolston, who was the first to be inducted into the new Hall of Fame in 2022.
Plant breeder Bill Griffin said Mr Worsfold played a key role in maintaining a strong arable research community as it moved into a contestable funding model in the early 1990s.
"He was a vital link to the arable farming industry that many of us in the research community depended upon. In particular he was key to our wheat breeding effort."
Former Far chief executive Nick Pyke said he was a team player on the Far board who could be relied on to challenge things from a practical perspective and always willing to host trials and field days on his property.
Arable awards
Manawatū farmer Simon Nitschke was named the Arable Farmer of the Year.
He took the top award at the ceremony for consistently achieving high crop yields and sharing his agronomic experience with other growers.
He was also presented with the Maize Farmer of the Year Award.
Federated Farmers arable chairman David Birkett said he was hugely impressed by the calibre and commitment of this year’s winners of awards in seven categories.
"Arable is a sector that tends to fly under the radar a bit in New Zealand, but it punches above its weight. Our growers are pivotal to domestic food staples, seed export markets and supplying the grass seed and animal grain that the bigger dairy, meat and wool sectors rely on. In what’s been a tough season, the resilience and innovation of our growers has shone through."
Waikato farmer Daniel Finlayson took out the Positive Environmental Impact Award.
Judges said he treated strong environmental stewardship as a foundation principle on his farm as opposed to a "nice to have".
His genuine working with iwi was noted and his continuous efforts to find solutions that worked, such as developing an anaerobic system for chicken manure to reduce volatilisation.
NZ Institute for Plant and Food Research’s Dr Soonie Chng, was the Innovation Award winner for her research into arable crop disease and finding solutions for growers.
Canterbury-based Liquid Injection Arable Growth Group, a group of 10 farmers accelerating production progress through farm trials and sharing knowledge, won the Working Together Award.
Judges said their collaboration has given farmers in the group the encouragement and support to try new things and get out of their comfort zones.
Agronomist of the year David Weith is a 30-year industry veteran from Timaru, who has two world wheat yield records and a world barley record to his name.
Mr Weith is heavily involved in training the new generation of young agronomists and farmers.
Judges were very impressed by the way cereal grower of the year Peter Hewson managed his water loss on low dryland cropping in Timaru, from good tilling practices, drilling timing and careful planning.
The seed grower of the year was Scott Rome, who farms near Gore with parents Steven and Helen.
