Farmers and orchardists have until Friday October 16, to enter the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

This year's national winner John Ford is encouraging everyone with an in interest in sustainable farming to give it a go.

Showcasing sustainable farming was among the motivations for entering the Balance Farm Environment Awards for supreme winners John and Catherine Ford of Rotorua.

'The work is never finished on a farm. There is always more to do but that's no reason not to enter the awards. There's much to be gained from doing so,” says John who with wife Catherine and the team at Highlands Station, won the National Award at the 2015 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

John and Catherine also won the top award in the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

'There's a well-known saying that you have to be in the black to be green but I believe that goes one step further – long term, to be in the black financially, you've got to be green.

'The awards are about celebrating those farmers and growers who are doing a good job and helping educate people about how much we care for and spend on the environment. It is also about helping better market New Zealand's primary produce by informing international customers that they are sustainably produced.”

The couple first entered the Bay of Plenty Awards in 2003, and used the advice of judges and what they learned from attending field days and meeting other entrants, to prioritise environmental work on their 1240ha hill-country farm, south of Rotorua within the Lake Tarawera and Rotokakahi catchment.

'We found the experience very useful in helping us decide the order of priority and where best to spend our money on environmental improvements.”

Being able to tell the good news stories about farming is among the reasons John and Catherine entered the awards as they recognise how crucial it is councils and the urban public understand what a good job farmers are doing.

John and Catherine are so committed to farming which strikes a balance between the environment and operating a financially sustainable business, their aim is to generate the same level of production in 100 years as Highlands Station generates today. To do that, says John, caring for the environment is vital.

Entry is free and entry forms are available online at www.bfea.org.nz or http://www.nzfeatrust.org.nz/enter_awards

For more information on the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, contact David Natzke, General Manager, New Zealand Farm Environment Trust, phone 07 834 0400, email [email protected] or visit www.bfea.org.nz