Dugald and Mandy Rutherford’s vigilant stewardship and long-term commitment to their diverse North Canterbury operation is indisputable.

The couple are, according to the award judges, “a strong management team” who place “environmental considerations paramount in their decision-making”. Farming in their oftenharsh environment together since 1975, Dugald and Mandy have, by their own admission, “been around long enough to know you don’t want to fight nature”. Says Dugald: “It is not the easiest place to be farming, but we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”