Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards 2026 Winners Announced in Christchurch

More than 400 people attended the event, which recognises the people, technologies and innovations that contribute to New Zealand's red meat sector.

AgResearch Food Integrity Team Wins Science and Research Award

Dr Gale Brightwell and the AgResearch Food Integrity Team were named winners of the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Science and Research Award.

The team has led applied science work that ensures the red meat sector continues to meet and exceed the rising expectations of global markets.

The judges said Brightwell and the AgResearch Food Integrity Team delivered essential science to support the red meat industry's market access and position it globally as suppliers of safe food.

They added that the team demonstrate great collaboration and excellence in science, and the benefits of their work are clear, important and essential to on-far economic success.

GenomNZ Recognised for Livestock Technology Leadership

GenomNZ took home the Datamars Livestock Technology Award.

For over 30 years, the company has delivered DNA analysis services to the New Zealand livestock sector.

Originally established to provide parentage testing for sheep, cattle and deer stud breeders, GenomNZ now offers genomic technologies that drive genetic gain across the red meat and wider primary industries.

The Award judges described the company as a global leader with a proven track record in the development and delivery of technologies.

They said GenomNZ carried out world-leading research and technology development with a vast number of applications and benefits.

They added that GenomNZ’s technology had amazing tenure and was continually innovating to keep our sheep and beef industry at the forefront of genetic selection. 

Tairāwhiti Whenua Charitable Trust wins innovative farming award

Tairāwhiti Whenua Charitable Trust set out to unite Māori landowners, shareholders, governance entities and farmers into a single, coordinated network in the wake of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

Formed to take a collective approach to Māori land ownership and governance, Tairāwhiti Whenua Charitable Trust represents more than 800,000 hectares of collective whenua and affiliated landholdings across Te Tairāwhiti and beyond. 

The Trust has developed a region wide Māori-led collective impact model that combines technical mapping, policy design, local wānanga, practical projects and strategic advocacy into one coherent system of change for sheep and beef country and its communities.  

Judges commented that the Tairāwhiti Whenua Charitable Trust was an impressive example of collaboration and leadership delivering multiple tangible results for rural communities. 

They said the organisation demonstrated innovation at a grand scale and added that the Tairāwhiti Whenua Charitable Trust generated fantastic economic, environmental and social benefits.

Conscious Valley recognised for premium local market strategy

Farming just eight kilometres from Wellington’s CBD, Hamish Best and his partner Caroline Flood saw an opportunity to market their beef and lamb to Wellingtonians looking for consistently high quality, low food mile red meat. 

Hamish has drawn on his sales and marketing experience to forge relationships with top Wellington chefs and restaurants. This sees their locally grown meat on the menu of many of the city's best restaurants. 

The Award judges said Conscious Valley has done a great job at asking their customers what they want and adjusting their products to suit. 

They added that while operating at the premium end of the market, Conscious valley was making effective use of all cuts and continuing to grow and adapt their product range. 

The judges concluded by saying that Conscious Valley had developed collaborative relationships which had enabled the company to grow. It was an outstanding example of an end-to-end value chain supplying the local market and modifying farm systems to meet consumer demand. 

Hawke’s Bay Farmer Wins Emerging Achiever Award

Despite growing up on a dairy farm, Ben Dawson bought his first stud sheep at the age of nine and has been a passionate sheep breeder ever since. 

Ben and his wife Molly lease a 226ha sheep and beef farm near Patoka in the Hawke’s Bay, but both have full-time jobs off their lease block, with Ben managing a 500ha drystock farm.

The judges said that Ben Dawson had demonstrated a great range of experience and achievements and was having a positive impact on his rural community through influence and leadership. 

They added that Ben had obviously thought carefully about his career and personal goals and developed a clear pathway to achieving them.

They noted that Ben is very active in his community and in the wider sheep industry and one judge commented that being asked to judge at the local pet day is a clear indication that Ben is held in high regard in his community. 

Lone Star Farms Win Rabobank People Development Award

Lone Star Farms operates six sheep and beef farms across the South Island, employing 35 people and running 95,000 stock units. 

People development was at the heart of the business, with personalised development plans, structured learning groups and ongoing leadership coaching for staff at every level. 

The judges said Lone Star Farms had demonstrated a strong commitment to people development and the organisation’s vision and purpose were both centred around people. 

They commented on the business’s focus on building capability within their farms both formally and informally with all full-time staff having personal development programmes.  

They added that Lone Star Farms had invested heavily in developing people; their training and their future. 

Shepherdess Founder Honoured with Rural Champion Award

After gaining insight into the isolation many women living rurally experience, Kristy McGregor launched Shepherdess magazine in 2020 as a way of connecting people. 

Today, Shepherdess is a social enterprise and multimedia platform dedicated to strengthening connection in rural communities through storytelling, community-building and events, engaging an estimated readership of 20,000 and an online community of 42,000 through print, digital media and social platforms. 

The Award judges said that Kristy’s Shepherdess magazine punched above its weight in shaping how rural women saw themselves along with fostering, strengthening and connecting rural communities through storytelling. 

It had influenced the way the wider public views the rural sector which supported sector resilience and reputation. 

The judges commended Kristy, who lives on a dairy and beef farm and was a former Beef + Lamb New Zealand Farmer Councillor, for creating a platform to share personal and authentic stories of women with a strong focus on women in sheep and beef farming and the experiences of rural Māori and Pasifika women. 

Dr Stewart Ledgard Recognised for Significant Contribution

Dr Stewart Ledgard’s career spanned the red meat supply chain, from helping farmers make informed decisions about fertiliser applications to protecting market access for New Zealand’s sheep and beef exports. 

He has carried out significant work on water use in New Zealand’s sheep and beef industries as well as the sector’s carbon footprint. These have shown that this country’s red meat production systems are amongst the most efficient in the world. 

The Award judges said that Dr Ledgard’s work had pioneered how New Zealand measured and managed the environmental footprint of pastoral farming. His global leadership in the science of foot printing had ensured a level playing field for pastoral systems. 

They added that his research on lifecycle assessment, carbon footprinting and nutrient budgeting tools underpinned today’s policy and market setting. 

They concluded that his work has also driven efficiencies and supported advocacy for New Zealand’s pastoral systems.