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Farm Environment Awards |
OPOTIKI'S Brett and Rachael Wotton are buzzing.
They are the very first orchardists to win the supreme prize in the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards. And they're the first kiwifruit growers to be showcased at national level.
Brett and Rachael operate five orchards on Opotiki's Tablelands, where they have established an amazing record for fruit size and quantity, producing twice as much kiwi gold per hectare as the industry average.
Brett's family bought the home orchard around 1980 and it still hosts 35-year-old vines planted in the very early days of kiwifruit.
Over the last decade, the industry has grown in leaps and bounds towards more sustainable practice, Brett says. "I'm delighted that kiwifruit orchards can be represented in these awards."
At the ceremony, which the Wottons attended with daughters Emily, Isobel and Louise, they also won the Ballance Nutrient Management Award and the Hill Laboratories Harvest Award.
Judges commended the couple for their teamwork, knowledge and active involvement in the industry, including hosting workshops and demonstration days. They applauded their staff management skills and a scholarship scheme set up to retain targeted employees.
As reported in Environment Bay of Plenty News
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