Syngenta's 2020 Growth Award finalists named

The Syngenta Growth Awards recognise leading growers and farm advisers from different regions across Australia and New Zealand, showcasing their contribution to the industry.

Nominations were by invitation and the 26 regional winners will go onto the final stage of judging, with overall winners to be announced early next year.

Mr Luxton is the managing director and country head of Syngenta Australia and New Zealand and said recognising individuals who were leading the way in agriculture was vital to the future of the sector across the two countries.

"This has always been true but in 2020 it's absolutely critical," he said.

"Good practice, innovation, collaboration and simple passion for the industry is needed now more than ever."

Since its inception in 2014, the program has offered awards in productivity, sustainability and community and people categories.

This year, Syngenta has added an Innovator category, to identify growers, advisers and influencers who contribute to innovation in agriculture or apply game-changing technologies.

"Innovation has always been one of the things we look for when judging the awards, because leaders are always testing new ideas and approaches, but this year we chose to go a step further and create a separate category that focuses solely on innovation," Mr Luxton said.

While the regional winners represent a range of careers, locations and achievements, there were some common threads around true passion for the future of the industry and a commitment to sharing and learning.

Based in Toowoomba, Paul McIntosh is an advisor with Pulse Australia and has been named as one of the productivity advisor winners.

Mr McIntosh said pressure about minimum residue limits (MRL) in crops sold to export markets would be a key issue for the pulse sector into the future.

"The issue lies with the desiccation which is needed before harvest," he said.

"I am working with growers to trial swathing, negating the need for a desiccating spray.

"Given that 98 per cent of desi chickpea and mung beans grown in Australia are exported, MRLs are something that we need to tackle."

Chris Monsour, Prospect Ag, Bowen, enjoys exposing his clients to new developments and technologies.

"My role is not just going out there and monitoring and providing advice about pest management, it's about bringing to them things that can elevate them above their competition and make them prosperous," he said.

Dale Abbott, Bowen Crop Monitoring Services, has been nominated in the productivity adviser category.

"We are operating in a very different environment at the moment with public health and who knows how this will play out in terms of labour supply and even the market for goods," he said.

"Our growers have been lucky so far in this production area, in that we haven't had to deal with a COVID-19 situation crisis, but something like that would put a great strain on our workforce and that of our grower clients."

Tent Hill farmer, David Haak, is named in the productivity grower category and is keeping his focus on farm innovation.

"We don't grow a lot of crops during the summer with our major season running from March until September.

"So by next March, we would be looking to bring our new properties into full production by improving nutrient levels and building up the soil.

"That will also involve setting up automatic irrigation which will be permanent, more efficient and can be turned on and off remotely."

Southern Queensland based advisor, Josh McGregor, McGregor Gourlay, said his business tried to find positives during last year's drought.

"It is hard for anyone not from here to comprehend what that was really like, because it wasn't just 2019," he said.

" I went to a couple of events where you could start to see the fear in people's eyes.

"We had the philosophy last year that we were not going to let a good crisis go to waste. We improved our management structure and feel there is a big opportunity to put what we honed, to the test."

Denis Persley works for the Department of Agriculture based in Toowoomba and said it had been rewarding to work closely with farmers in the vegetable industry.

"The most exciting opportunity is work I am doing in conjunction with the University of Queensland and a commercial company to develop a new system of virus management. It's a novel method which uses viral genes to immunise the plant against infection."

This year Mr Luxton was joined on the judging panel by Ian McConnell, Director of Beef Sustainability for Tyson Foods; Richard Heath, Executive Director of the Australian Farm Institute; Kirrily Condon, Agronomic Consultant with Grassroots Agronomy; and Brianna Casey, Chief Executive Officer of Foodbank Australia.

Nominees were this year asked to complete a series of challenging questions designed not only to demonstrate their achievements and their expertise in their fields, but to uncover their views about collaboration across the industry and big picture topics from future agricultural challenges to food security.

Productivity Growers: Brad Johnston, Quandialla, NSW, David Haak, Tent Hill, Qld, Simon Doolin, North Star, NSW

Productivity Advisers: Dale Abbott, Bowen, Qld, Graeme Jones, South Island, NZ, Karen Smith, Perth, WA, Paul McIntosh, NSW and Qld, Roger Blyth, Canterbury, NZ, Tim Walker, Devonport, TAS

Sustainability Growers: Adam Schreurs, Clyde, VIC, Murray Hall, Brookton, WA

Sustainability Advisers: Chris Monsour, Bowen, Qld, Chris Toohey, Albury, NSW, Denis Persley, Toowoomba, Qld, Linda Peacock, Tauranga, NZ, Nigel Myers, Lower Eyre Peninsula, SA, Stuart Grigg, Ballan, VIC

Community and People Growers: Anthony De Ieso, Adelaide, SA, Brett South, Esperance, WA, Sue Middleton, Wongan Hills, WA

Community and People Advisers: Alex Thomas, Torrens Park, SA, Grace Brennan, Dubbo, NSW, Josh McGregor, Qld and NSW

Innovator: Heath McWhirter, Griffith, NSW, Sarah Nolet, Sydney, NSW, Tanya and Rob Kitto, Geraldton, WA

For more information please visit: www.syngenta.com.au/growth-awards-2020