Mid Canterbury farmers were at the fore scooping a sizable yield of the top prizes in this year’s Wheat Grower Awards.
Cream of the crop was the Blain family’s Strathern Farm at Ashton in Mid Canterbury, which grew the best overall wheat crop to take the honour as the United Wheatgrowers (UWG) Grand Champion 2024.
The mixed-arable family farming operation of Peter and Glenys Blain together with their son Stephen and daughter-in-law Mary takes in 300 hectares with the farming system 100% cropping over the summer while incorporating lamb finishing and dairy grazing throughout winter.
To learn they were winners came as a complete surprise.
“We didn’t know we were even entered until we got an email to say we had won, and we better be at the Arable Awards event,” Stephen said.
The Strathern Farm entry from their Dawsum feed wheat crop entered by their grain and seed agent was judged the best of the crops to win the feed wheat category, going on to win the Grand Champion award.
The judges described the autumn-sown crop sample as an attractive line that hit “all marks” with good protein and high yield.
“It was a good crop grown for seed; it harvested well, we were happy, but to win we when didn’t know we were entered was even better,” Stephen said.
“We didn’t do anything too special with the crop; timing of fungicides and water, keeping it healthy and keeping disease out was obviously enough.
“We have got two different varieties in the ground this season. If I’d known it was going to be a winner I would have put more in, but I haven’t got the ground now.”
Stephen is part of the third generation on Strathern Farms; the farming system has changed under his watch as irrigation pushed conversion from livestock to cropping.
The farm is pivot irrigated with good access to groundwater enabling efficient and reliable water
“We couldn’t grow the crops that we do without reliable water.”
Looking back to earlier generations, Peter took up the reins from his father Eric who returned from World War 2 and was offered a loan from the State Services to go farming.
“He borrowed money from his uncle to get the £500 deposit; paid £11 an acre for 540 acres [218ha] and started farming with a few sheep and some crop.
“That was in 1947; he went through the wool boom of the ’50s and pretty much that paid off the loan, that was when wool could pay the loan,” Peter said.
At one stage the farm was two-thirds lucerne carrying 2000 breeding ewes and cropping 200 acres.
As irrigation became important and Peter joined his father in farming, the farm was added to with the purchase of a couple of neigbouring blocks of land. The reliability of water enabled more cropping.
Environmental impact has been reduced with a low-till operation these days and pivot irrigation increasing water use efficiency.
“We haven’t ploughed for 12 years,” Peter said.
Future plans focus on further refining farm systems.
“We will keep improving where we can, especially around water efficiency and soil health, keep building good relationships with the companies we deal with to get good contracts and be open to try new things as opportunities come our way,” Stephen said.
Stephen and Mary have two sons, Benji, 4, and Chester, 2.
“We want to be here for the next generation if they want to be here.”
UWG chair Michael Tayler said the awards are about celebrating the industry.
“We tend to fly under the radar, we are a world-class industry with world-class farmers, and we need to celebrate that.
“There was a good strong line-up of entries, the standard was high, and the winners were well deserved.
“It is particularly pleasing to note a good number of the next generation stepping up into the awards, which is really encouraging to see,” Tayler said.
Wheat Grower Awards category results:
Feed wheat: Stephen and Peter Blain 1 and Grand Champion; Ross Richards 2, Redmond family 3
Biscuit wheat: Brian and Rachel Leadley 1, Hurst Farm Partnership 2, Philip Gray 3.
Milling wheat: William Thompson 1, Clemens family 2, Jim and Jocelyn Petrie 3.
Premium milling wheat: Geoff Maw 1, Craig Muckle 2, Millisle Farm 3.
