A MAROONA resident who services Lake Bolac clients has been recognised for his contribution to his community, being nominated for an award at this year’s Syngenta Growth Awards as a farming advisor.

The future of agriculture in Australia and New Zealand is in sound hands, according to Syngenta managing director and country head ANZ, Paul Luxton, who announced the regional winners of this year’s Syngenta Growth Awards, which recognises growers, advisers and innovators for their contribution to the industry.

The 23 regional winners, selected from a list of impressive nominations, will now progress to the final stage of judging, decided by a panel of independent industry specialists.

Director/agronomist at Gorst Rural, Cam Conboy, was nominated for a Community and People award for his work with his team at Gorst Rural across Lake Bolac, Derrinallum, Skipton, Tatyoon and Willaura.

Mr Conboy said that he was nominated by territory manager, Nev Marra, which was a great achievement.

“It is more recognition for the team rather than me, as one of our values is community and it’s important for us to be recognised for helping small communities,” he said.

“This award really reflects what we have done as a team rather than as individuals.

“Our guys are heavily involved with football clubs, fire brigades, car clubs, school councils, and everyone at Gorst Rural are encouraged to get themselves involved in projects in the community.

“We sponsor a number of football clubs such as Tatyoon, Moyston-Willaura, SMW Rovers, Lismore-Derrinallum, Caramut, Glenthompson-Dunkeld and Woorndoo-Mortlake.”

They also help to organise charity golf days, maintain local cemeteries, tree plantings and school sports days.

The regional winners will gather in Sydney later in the year for the National Gala Dinner, where national winners will be awarded in each category, and participate in a series of business workshops prior to the gala on AgTech advancements and sustainable farming to extend their skillset.

The Syngenta Growth Awards program was launched in 2014 with Productivity, Sustainability, and Community & People categories – an Innovator category was added in 2020.

Mr Luxton said they had an incredibly strong pool of nominees this year, reflecting the huge amount of talent, commitment and sheer hard work in the industry.

“Choosing regional finalists was a difficult task – as it always is – but it’s such an honour to recognise individuals who are leading the way through exemplary practice, innovation, collaboration and passion for the industry,” he said.

“The list of regional winners covers a broad range of careers, locations and achievements – because excellence can be found everywhere in this diverse sector.”

Mr Luxton said the impact of the awards program goes beyond the award winners.

“While we’re celebrating individual achievement with this program, we are also seeking to empower regional and agricultural communities, which are sometimes undervalued and underestimated – our agriculture industry is world class and deserves its time in the spotlight,” he said.

The national winners in each of the four categories will be offered the opportunity to attend an international study tour next year, and will also join an alumnus of previous winners, who remain connected and continue to add value to their communities.

The Syngenta Growth Awards supports the goals of Syngenta’s four ambitious global sustainability commitments to reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint and help farmers deal with the extreme weather patterns caused by climate change.

The four commitments include accelerating Syngenta’s innovations to provide solutions for farmers, striving for carbon neutral agriculture, partnering with stakeholders across industries for impact, and lastly helping people stay safe and healthy by training eight million farm workers and striving for fair labour across their entire supply chain.