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The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) will once again present its National Beef Performers Awards in 2023. This is the 45th instalment of the awards, the aim of which is to showcase the best of the best in seven categories, all relating to beef cattle performance and beef cattle producers. Each of the seven categories is sponsored by various agricultural companies and role-players, and serve to honour those who have excelled in their breeding and production practices, as well as the mentoring of fellow producers.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has been a key stakeholder in these awards since its inception and continues to play this role this year. As of 2022, Plaas Media is the main sponsor of the awards and, as last year, will also be sponsoring certain categories.
National Mentor of the Year award category
The National Mentor of the Year award category, sponsored by Molatek, was introduced to the ARC National Awards only a few years back and has become very popular ever since. This award category showcases the remarkable contributions that a producer can make, not only in his or her region but also in our nation and across all production sectors.
This accolade reflects how a producer shares his or her personal and professional values with other producers and gives back to the industry to help it grow and prosper. We often hear the phrase “sharing is caring”, which should form part of the attitude and outlook of life of anyone who may qualify for this award.
The primary aim of the National Mentor of the Year award is to acknowledge producers with exceptional leadership skills and efforts in building capacity and skills through information dissemination, mentoring and assisting fellow producers to adopt and implement the relevant technologies and management skills to enhance their productivity and sustainability.
In short, this award category assesses how a producer ploughs back his or her skills, knowledge and experience to the benefit of others. Producers who enter this category should have a record of accomplishment that attests to their efforts to train and mentor others, and very importantly to show the impact of their actions and mentoring initiatives. The 2023 finalists in this category are:
- Naudé Pienaar of Zondagspan Santas in Zeerust, North West.
- Piet Mothepu of Kirkdale Farm in Koppies, Free State.
Tune in to the Farm TV YouTube channel on 23 November at 18:00. – Dr Ben Greyling and Frans Jordaan
Click on the links below to read more about the ARC Beef Performers Awards:
- ARC National Best Elite Cow Awards.
- ARC National Platinum Bull Awards.
- ARC National KyD Province of the Year Award.
- National Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo of the Year Award
For more information, send an email to Dr Ben Greyling at ben@arc.agric.za or to Frans Jordaan at fransj@arc.agric.za. You can also visit the Beef Cattle Improvement Scheme website.
