Judging Process

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Enter the 2025 Ahuwhenua Trophy Sheep and Beef Competition - Judging process

JUDGING PROCESS

First Round Judging: Initial judging of this competition will occur during late January/early February 2025 when the First Round Judging panel visits with all entrants. This panel will ultimately select up to three finalists who go on to the next round of judging.

After entering, you will be contacted by the team with further information about the process, and to set up a time for the First Round Judges visit.

This visit will take up to three hours and will include a tour of key farm features. The judging will relate solely to the sheep and beef components of the farm business.

The owner or owners of the business who carry the greatest responsibility i.e. Chair (or other elected representative), Supervisor and Manager are required to meet with the First Round Judges at the beginning of the visit. Professional advisors and the Manager if engaged may participate at owners’ discretion.

It is important to allocate your time wisely and to demonstrate clearly to the judges how your sheep and beef business meets the criteria outlined below.

Following the judges visits with all entrants, you will be advised of the outcome of your judges visit.

Finalist Judging:

If you are selected as a finalist

Each finalist is required to hold a field day. Guidance and financial assistance is provided to finalists to assist in staging the field day.

The judging to select the winner from the finalists will take place in late March/early April and the process involves:

At 10am (or as agreed) on the morning prior to the field day, the judges will meet with the owner or owners of the business who carry the greatest responsibility for the business i.e., Chair and other members of the governance team. The Farm Supervisor/Consultant, professional advisors and the Manager if engaged may participate at owners’ discretion. This meeting will focus on governance, management and financial aspects and will include a farm visit.
Judges will continue their judging assessment through their attendance at the field day and the content and standard of presentation during the field day will be taken into consideration.

Judging will be based on:

The efficiency with which the property is run relative to its potential. This will not be based solely on financial measures such as profit per hectare or return on business capital. These measures will be taken as a guide but consideration will also be given to other factors such as:

◦ The physical resources available to the farmer (e.g., local climate, soil types, water, location etc)

◦ Stage of development, financial structure.

Financial results where:

Profit will be determined by the calculation of the operating profit per hectare, that is gross income, net of stock purchases (adjusted for changes in livestock numbers) less working expenses, Interest, development, capital expenditure, drawings, dividends and taxation are not included in the calculation of operating profit
Financial performance will be determined from annual financial statements for the three years ending at the farm balance date in 2024. The effectiveness of the farms governance procedures and initiatives, in areas that include:
The adoption of innovative farming systems and reinvestment in the business
The pursuit of sustainable management strategies including the up-skilling of all farm personnel
Keeping up to date with new farming methods and ways to monitor performance
The level of recognition given to kaitiakitanga and ngā tikanga Māori in the operation of the farming enterprise.

CONSIDERATIONS

The organisers note that in recent times a number of new measures have been introduced to assess the performance of farming and other businesses. These include:

Triple Bottom Line Reporting which focuses a business on its economic value, added or lost, as well as environmental and social value. Entrants are encouraged to outline their efforts in these areas to the judges during their visits.
Cost of Production Analysis – calculating the cost of production per unit of output. This encourages the setting of goals for improved performance and allows comparisons to be made between different types of farming businesses. We encourage all farmers to discuss the benefits of adopting such an approach with their advisors.
Innovation – is the farm looking at innovative technology, processes, tools or practices or embracing new technologies that result in real financial improvements i.e. financial, farming etc.

The judges will also look for best practice in relation to people management, including health and safety and career development.

A consideration in this regard is the extent to which the governance team and management encourage staff participation in the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year where staff meet the competition entry criteria.

In considering this the judges will utilise as a guideline the following weighting:

Criteria	Percent	Factors to be Considered
Governance and Strategy	15%	Demonstrate active leadership of the organisation Articulate the vision and strategy Show evidence of the implementation and results from the strategy Demonstrate professional development for Management, Trustees and/or Directors, succession planning and internships What are the tangible returns and benefits to shareholders?
Social / Community / Ngā Tikanga Māori	15%	Articulate the contribution to, and participation in, communities of interest to the organisation; support for whanau, local hapu, iwi, marae, and wider local community Governance or management team's ability to include tikanga Maori in aspects of the business Demonstrate the management and governance team’s awareness of opportunities to connect with the wider industry and beyond to share knowledge, partner for impact, develop strategy, built networks and access financial or other tangible support
Financial and Benchmarking	20%	Clearly show understanding of the organisations Financials - Budgeting, Variance Reports and KPls in place to measure financial performance What non-financial benchmarks are used and why? Consistency over time – show over the last 3-5 years Wealth creation for asset base growth: Leveraging Asset Base, Internal Capital Investment Economic Farm Surplus (EFS) GFR/HA FWE as a % of GFR
Feed Production	10%	Production system and strategy Development and sustainability of soil fertility Quality of permanent pastures (composition and nutritive value) Forage crop yields and integrated use Use of least cost supplements and tactical use of nitrogen
Animal Performance	10%	Stock health and welfare Genetic improvement Reproductive and growth performance Supply of product to market specifications
Human Resource and Health and Safety	10%	How do employment policies and practices support dignity of work and understanding of social wealth creation via the enterprise? Show employment contracts with job descriptions and evidence of regular reviews. Evidence of training pathways for staff, that are relevant to their roles and responsibilities Show an active and positive H&S culture that highlights good staff engagement Demonstrate ‘Employer of Choice’ going above and beyond other employers to attract and retain staff
Environment / Sustainability Goals and Strategies	15%	Demonstrate active soil conservation, measurement of soil health, management of sediment, nutrient management and avoidance of leaching, monitoring and minimisation of water use, the use of integrated pest management and management of agrichemicals Display the organisations commitment to relevant industry best-practise, e.g., Apple Futures, KiwiGreen or equivalent Show that best environmental practise is being followed in all aspects of the operation, give examples and show active measurement Is there any adoption of alternative compounds and /or techniques to save the use of artificial fertilisers or chemical sprays? What is being done to reduce the impact of GHG on the atmosphere? Show how the organisation is actively eliminating waste, reusing and /or recycling resources
Innovation	5%	Show the pathways that are in place to innovate Demonstrate how innovation was accessed and where appropriate how was it adopted? How is knowledge and tech transfer applied to the organisation?
Total	100%

JUDGING DISCRETION

Judges will make their decisions based on a number of factors including the points allocated in the judging criteria set out above. Accordingly, entrants need to demonstrate – both in written material supplied and in their presentation on the day – that they are performing in relation to the criteria set out in the table above. Feedback will be given by judges to entrants on the strengths and weaknesses of the sheep and beef farming business based on the information provided and their assessments on the days of judging.

INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGES

Before the judges are appointed, they are required to declare any potential conflict of interest. Where possible the judging panel will be made up of persons who are not participating in the competition but, where this is not feasible, a judge shall not participate in judging of a farm where he/she has interests associated with an entry. Likewise, judges shall not participate in the judging of the winner if they have an interest in one of the finalists. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.