rivettingKateTaylor

Fellow Takapau-ite Steve Wyn-Harris has won the 2012  Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year.

Well done Steve!

I had known Steve’s name for a while before we actually moved to Takapau and got to know Steve the dad, Steve the farmer, Steve the husband (Jane’s my cardio tennis coach!) and Steve the radio announcer (because now I live in a place we I can hear his Cockies Hour on our wonderful community station Central FM).

The award, which recognises excellence in communicating agricultural issues, events or information is administered by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators (of which I am also a member, but never get to go to the dinner because hubby’s already at the field days and I’m in charge of the sproglets – maybe next year).

Steve is described by them as a Hawke’s Bay farmer who has become a strong commentator on farming, the farming industry and agricultural sciences.

Steve and Jane Wyn-Harris from Takapau in Central Hawke’s Bay

Steve Wyn-Harris started his farming career in 1985 when he bought 180 hectares in Central Hawke’s Bay, adding several other blocks over the years, so he and his wife now have 350ha.  The properties carry high performance breeding ewes, including a coopworth sheep stud that uses latest technology such as sire referencing, AI and gene identification.  Bull beef makes up 40% of the stock carried and 15% of the property is planted in forestry, and areas of amenity and native plantings are scattered over all the farms.  He has won a number of farming awards over the years, most recently last year when the farm took out the East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Supreme Award.

However, it is because of his commentaries about farming, farming industries and agricultural sciences that he took out this year’s Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year Award.   He is a broadcaster with his own local radio show and is a regular on the national Farming Show.  He is a long-standing columnist, and has been contributing weekly columns for many years, well over 660 so far, and currently appears in The NZ Farmers Weekly.

Guild President, Jon Morgan, said Steve is a worthy recipient of the award this year.  His columns, comments, presentations at conferences cover an extensive range of topics, but his style remains the same, relaxed, whimsical and often humourous.   “He is widely respected as an excellent farmer,  but has that rare gift of communications that crosses all areas of rural life.”

I have met Jon several times in the past few months too – at the Beef Expo and earlier at the field day for James Hunter, who won the East Coast BFEA award Steve (and Jane) won last year.

So there you go.  Takapau has a claim to fame.

Well done Steve.