The Awards for Excellence, which were held at the Arkaba Hotel on Thursday, 28 April, provided the opportunity to showcase the dedication to high quality produce, innovation and leadership within these vitally important industries in South Australia.

The winners of the Awards for Excellence were as follows:

• Duy Ly, 4 Ways Fresh – Grower of the Year (proudly sponsored by Peats Soil);
• Thang Hoang Le (aka ‘Aussie Kev’) – Young Grower of the Year (proudly sponsored by the South Australian Produce Market);
• Tony Catanzariti – Rising Star Award (proudly sponsored by William Buck);
• Mark Glazbrook, Migration Solutions – Industry Impact (proudly sponsored by Elders);
• Peter Wadewitz, Peats Soil – Community Stewardship (Proudly sponsored by Cropping Solutions);
• Graeme Pitchford, Pitchford Produce – Environmental Award (proudly sponsored by Peats Soil);
• Alli Peacock, Pricewaterhouse Coopers – Innovation Partner (proudly sponsored by Boomaroo Nurseries);
• Don Ruggiero, Swanport Harvest – Innovative Marketing (proudly sponsored by Ironwood Careers & Training);
• Monika Fiebig, Monika’s Organics – Women in Horticulture (proudly sponsored by ANZ);
• Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia (PIRSA) for the Adelaide Hills ‘Pest Free Area’ project – Researcher of the Year (proudly sponsored by William Buck).

The winners of the AUSVEG SA Awards for Excellence are now in the running for the National Awards for Excellence, to be held during the 2016 National Horticulture Convention on the Gold Coast on 25 June.

“South Australian growers are incredibly resilient, despite the challenges posed by high labour costs and access to infrastructure,” said AUSVEG SA State Manager, Jordan Brooke-Barnett.

“The Awards for Excellence recognise South Australian growers, researchers and other industry participants for their leadership, dedication and expertise in providing high quality produce to consumers and adopting innovation to improve productivity and profitability in the industry.”

“It is important to celebrate the outstanding achievements of South Australia’s leading growers and their unwavering dedication to the vegetable and potato industries, which are vital to the state’s economy, especially given Holden’s departure from the state.”

AUSVEG SA is the leading body representing the interests of vegetable and potato producers in the state and provides growers with a united voice and strong representation with all levels of government.