New Zealand winner of the 2026 Zanda McDonald Award Karn Dhaliwal says some of the large-scale farmers he met in Australia focus on only two or three things and do them extremely well. He says one mentor told him there is no secret sauce, just a dedicated team, a few priorities each year and 10% growth year in, year out.

His own business runs four lanes: annual cropping, kiwifruit, export blueberries and a farming lane scaling up in dairy and dairy beef.

“There is no better place to farm than New Zealand, in the world,” he says.

Applications for the 2027 award open today and close on 31 October, with a $10,000 education package on offer.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.

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