2019 Guild Agricultural Journalism Awards Winners

Winners of the 2019 NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists & Communicators Awards were announced at the seventeenth anniversary dinner, sponsored by Beef + Lamb NZ in Wellington on Friday 19 October.

Following are the award-winning entries. Most are linked to online items, but some are in pdf format requiring Acrobat Reader.

AgResearch Science Writers Award

This award has been established by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators and AgResearch to enhance standards of science writing, especially about pastoral agriculture. It was won by Jackie Harrigan, for articles which appeared in the Dairy Exporter magazine.

Alliance Red Meat Industry Journalism Award

This award recognises the ability to communicate the complexities of the red meat industry. It was won by Carol Stiles, from RNZ’s Country Life programme.

AGMARDT Agribusiness Award

This award recognises high quality information about an effective analysis of national, global and other agribusiness. This award was on by Gerard Hutching, for articles which appeared in the Dominion Post/Stuff.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand Hard News Award

This award is designed to recognise excellence in hard news journalism, focusing on a sheepmeat or beef news story, from the farm to the market. This award was won by Neal Wallace, for two articles in Farmers Weekly.

Dairy Industry Journalism Award

This award, won this year by Gerard Piddock, from the Waikato Times/Stuff, focuses on all aspects of the dairy sector, from genetics, breeding, on-farm, processing, marketing, and all the many issues facing the New Zealand dairy industry.

Federated Farmers Broadcast Journalism Award

The award has been established to recognise excellence in the broadcasting side of agricultural or agribusiness journalism, either radio of television. This award was won by Susan Murray for two items that were broadcast on RNZ’s Country Life programme.

Federated Farmers Rural Photography Award

This award is open to any New Zealand-based journalist, photo-journalist, or photographer and is not restricted to NZGAJC members.The 2019 award was was won by freelance photographer Tony Benny for a photo which appeared in the Dairy Farmer.

Tony Benny_daniel__paula_mcatamney13 SM

Horticulture New Zealand Journalism Award 

This award, won this year won by Susan Murray for two programmes from RNZ’s Country Life, has been established by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators and Horticulture New Zealand, to encourage and recognise excellence in agricultural journalism, on New Zealand’s horticulture industry.  

Guild's Agricultural Journalism Encouragement Award

This award was established by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators, and is designed to acknowledge and recognise the work of journalists who have been specialising in agricultural journalism for three years or less. This year it was won by Jacqui Gibson, a freelancer from Wellington, for articles which appeared in VetScript magazine

Ko Tatou This Is Us Biosecurity Journalism Award,

This award was estabilished by MPI’s Biosecuity New Zealand to recognise stories and media coverage associated with increasing awareness and understanding of biosecurity and its impacts on the environment, economy, society and culture. This was won by Gerard Hutching, of The Dominion Post/Stuff.

MPI Rongo Award

This award is for excellence in journalism in the primary sector. A three-part series by the Country-Wide team, led by editor Terry Brosnahan, looking at the impact of carbon forestry, took out this year’s top award.

Runner Up

Carol Stiles

Rural Women NZ Journalism Award

This award has been established to recognise the important contribution women make (and have always made) in the rural community, either through their role in the farming sector or to the general rural environment, in its broadest interpretation. It was won by Sally Rae of the Otago Daily Times.

Rural Women NZ Rural Connectivity Award

The award, won by Nelson freelance, Anne Hardie for articles which appeared in The Dairy Exporter, has been established to recognise the importance of connectivity to rural communities and agri-businesses in rural areas. 

Zespri Export Journalism Award

This award focuses on all aspects of the primary sector exports – on farm, processing, packaging, transport, marketing, research, aimed at increasing market share. It was shared by two journalists, Richard Rennie for articles in NZ Farmers Weekly and Susan Murray for items that were broadcast on RNZ’s Country Life programme

Richard Rennie

Susan Murray