2019 Young Grower of the Year

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Daniel Hoffman: Young Grower of the Year 2019
Daniel Hoffman: Young Grower of the Year 2019 Dan’s the man: South Australian veggie grower and industry advocate takes out 2019 Young Grower of the Year Award
Daniel Hoffman: Young Grower of the Year 2019
Daniel Hoffman: Young Grower of the Year 2019 Dan’s the man: South Australian veggie grower and industry advocate takes out 2019 Young Grower of the Year Award

Young Grower of the Year 2019

In a competitive crop of 10 nominees from around Australia shortlisted for the prestigious award, Daniel was recognised as the best in his field based on his advocacy work for local growers seeking access to water on the Northern Adelaide Plains, strong R&D involvement and his own innovative on-farm practices.

Growing tomatoes, capsicums, eggplant, cucumber and bunch lines as part of the family farming enterprise, Hoff Family Trust, Daniel’s expertise areas include plant nutrition and fertiliser, as well as pest and plant health management.

Read more about Daniel's fellow nominees:

WINNER: Daniel Hoffman, Age 35, Penfield, SA

Daniel Hoffman
Business Hoff Family Trust
Expertise Plant nutrition and fertiliser. Pest and plant health management.
Crop Focus Tomatoes, capsicums, eggplant, cucumber, bunch lines
Methods IPM/Biodynamic
Current Focus Harvesting, planting, pest/disease management and irrigation

Read More

Anthony De Ieso Age 30, Adelaide, SA

Anthony-De-Ieso
Business Thorndon Park Produce
Expertise Growing vegetables!
Crop Focus Bunch Line vegetables
Methods Intense outdoor horticulture
  Commercial methods and others such as IPM

Read More

Stephanie Tabone Age 23, Kalbar QLD

stephanie
Business Kalfresh
Expertise Production Manager
Crop Focus Carrots

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Christopher Maisel Age 25, Dimbulah, QLD

Christopher-Maisel
Business Maisel Ag Pty Ltd (Trading as Rocky Top Farms)
Expertise Bachelor of Agribusiness and Applied sciences
Crop Focus Pawpaw/Papaya, Limes
Methods IPM, pulse irrigation, natural biological control
  and constant pest and dsease monitoring

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Daniel Jackson Age 35, Glasshouse Mountains/Beerwah, QLD

Daniel-Jackson
Business Jackson Agricultural Company
Expertise Grower
Crop Focus Custard Apples and Macadamias
Methods Hybrid of natural sequence farming and
  IPM adapted to horticulture

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John Hearman Age 33, Donnybrook, WA

John Hearman
Business Hearman, Ag Orchard and Nursery
Expertise Fruit grower and nurseryman
Crop Focus Large tonnage with high packout.Big trees for nursery.
Methods Conventional

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Josh Langmaid Age 31, Forth (Devonport), TAS

Josh Langmaid
Business Langmaid Harvesting
Expertise Horticulture, Contract harvesting (Grain/Seed crop)
Crop Focus Vegetables (Cauilflower, Beans, Peas, Potatoes,
  Poppies, Pyrethrum, Cabbage, Parsley, Carrot)
Methods Integrated Pest Management

Read More

Michael Evans Age 35, Bairnsdale, VIC

michael-evans
Expertise                 Corn and beans
Crop Focus Tropical Fruits, Vegetable Production
Methods Finding alternate inputs to the conventional way.
  Utilising alternate nutritional sources. Improving soils

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Stephanie Corrigan Age 28, Clyde, VIC

Stephanie
Business Corrigan Produce Farms
Expertise Farming
Crop Focus Baby Cos, Celery, Kale, Leeks, Silverbeet, Celeriac, Pak Choy, Onions
Methods Integrated Pest Management
Favourite Beneficial Bug Lady Bugs - They're cute!

Read More

 

Carl Young Age 29, Wemen, VIC

carlyoung
Business Redgold Pty Ltd
Expertise Co-ordination of cropping
Crop Focus Spinach and lettuce
Methods Farm with love
Favourite Beneficial Bug Lacewing

Dan's the Man: SA Vegge Grower Wins Young Grower Award

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35-year-old vegetable grower Daniel Hoffman from Penfield, South Australia has been named as the 2019 Young Grower of the Year.

The award, sponsored by Corteva Agriscience, was announced at the AUSVEG National Awards for Excellence held at the Hort Connections Gala Dinner in Melbourne tonight. In a competitive crop of 10 nominees from around Australia shortlisted for the prestigious award, Daniel was recognised as the best in his field based on his advocacy work for local growers seeking access to water on the Northern Adelaide Plains, strong R&D involvement and his own innovative on-farm practices.

Growing tomatoes, capsicums, eggplant, cucumber and bunch lines as part of the family farming enterprise, Hoff Family Trust, Daniel’s expertise areas include plant nutrition and fertiliser, as well as pest and plant health management.

Daniel Hoffman said he was honoured to be nominated for the Award and was thrilled to win the accolade. “It feels really nice to be recognised for years of work,” he said. “Young growers will be our future and if we can use things like the Young Grower of the Year Award to encourage us all to strive for better practices and share knowledge then I think that’s great. “If we, as the next generation of farmers, are working in an environment where we feel appreciated then the industry is going benefit from proud growers. This is a very noble and hard profession and we should be damn proud of the industry.”

Nick Koch, Marketing Manager for Horticulture & Insecticides for Corteva Agriscience said Daniel is a great example of the impact younger farmers can have on the industry. “At just 35, Daniel has proved himself to be a well-respected leader within the grower community and beyond, becoming a well-known advocate for the Northern Adelaide Plains water security issue on behalf of the broader farming sector,” Nick said. “In addition to his strong advocacy work, Daniel has supported a number of researchers as part of the AUSVEG South Australia Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program and helped to host a number of field walks on his farm also,” he said.

“He’s successfully managed to breed and maintain his own healthy population of the beneficial bug nesidiocoris tenuis as part of his IPM and biodynamic method of farming to produce high quality crops, which he supplies to key wholesalers such as Premier Fruits Group.”

AUSVEG, the industry representative body for the Australian vegetable and potato industries, manages the 2019 National Awards for Excellence, including the Young Grower of the Year Award.

Past Winners and Nominees

Corteva Agricience have been proud sponsors of the annual Hort Innovations Young Grower of the Year award since 2018. Meet all of our past winners and nominees.

Chris McLoghlin, 2018 Young Grower of the Year

2018

2018 Winner was Victorian mushroom producer Chris McLoghlin of The Organic Mushroom Farm, the largest certified organic mushroom farming company in Australia at the time.

Meet the 2018 Nominees
Xavier Toohey 2021 winner

2021

Potato grower Xavier Toohey from Wallace in Victoria was the 2021 Winner of the Young Grower of the Year Award. Xavier was praised for his leadership and tenacity.

Meet the 2021 Nominees