Entries for the 2026 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards close in just over two weeks and anyone working in the red meat sector is encouraged to either enter or nominate their industry heroes.
B+LNZ’s CEO Alan Thomson, says entries for the 2026 B+LNZ Awards close at 5pm on Monday, 8 December and he is urging people to get their entries and nominations in as soon as possible.
“We have eight Award categories, four of which are people focused, while four are industry focused. This gives people the opportunity to recognise emerging achievers, rural champions, innovative farming practices as well as the science and technologies that drive our red meat industry forward.”
The winners will be announced at an Awards Dinner which will be one of the highlights of B+LNZ’s Out The Gate conference being held at Te Pae in Christchurch on 20 and 21 May
Mr Thomson says feedback from previous finalists and winners has been overwhelmingly positive, and for some, winning has helped catapult their career or business to a new level.
Vet Amy Hoogenboom won the Emerging Achiever Award at the 2023 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards and says entering the Awards, being named a finalist and ultimately winning, gave her the opportunity to grow her networks and lift her profile in the industry through meeting fellow finalists, sponsors and agribusiness leaders.
Amy says a finalist, she received a lot of media coverage, and this only ramped up after she won the Emerging Achiever Award.
“It’s a great way to increase your exposure in the industry, even as a finalist, and get in front of companies, CEOs, business managers and farming leaders.”
“It opens doors to a number of opportunities.”
One of the most immediate opportunities came immediately after the Awards, which were held in Christchurch, when Amy was approached by B+LNZ’s Northern South Island Farmer Council to join the Council as a co-opted (non-levy paying) member.
“It has been one of the most significant opportunities to come out of the B+LNZ Awards, looking behind the curtain at how B+LNZ’s extension works.”
Amy encourages any aspiring farming or agribusiness leader to enter the Emerging Leader Award.
“I definitely encourage people to enter. The Award is a really neat way to highlight the young people coming through our sector. While there are a lot of awards for established businesses or leaders, if we look at the sheep and beef sector, there are not a lot of other awards that recognise young talent.”
“The Emerging Achiever Award is unique in that you don’t have to be a farmer; it is also open to those supporting the sector. The Award gives all young people who work within the sheep and beef industry the opportunity to progress their career.”
Marlborough-based fence post recycling companyRepost Ltd won the Gallagher Innovative Farming Award at the 2023 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards and the win took their business to a whole new level.
Repost, which is owned and operated by Greg and Dansy Coppell, takes broken posts from Marlborough’s viticulture industry and repurposes them as a key farm input at a fraction of the cost of a new fence post.
Dansy says winning the award floored the couple.
“For the Repost brand to be seen and acknowledged in a room full of titans in the rural sector was overwhelming and a huge boost of confidence for us. We felt incredibly grateful for the honour."
She says the couple gained invaluable feedback through new contacts made through the B+LNZ Awards which they will be forever grateful for.
“It gave us an energy boost and has catapulted us into a new chapter of our business with renewed confidence and drive.”
“Seeing the Award on our mantelpiece has made our team, as a whole, as proud as punch and we show it as a badge of honour, and a promise to hold true to who we are.
“We are committed to helping others who need to be uplifted, and the Award is a reminder of why we started this business and to continue to help ag- sector community that we are a part of.”