A new winter crop competition has raised over $50,000 for the Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust.

The competition was organised by the Rotary Club of Wanaka and is the first such competition in the Upper Clutha area.

“We had over 60 crops to judge, which was great for our first event,” organiser and former Rotary Club of Wanaka president George Scott said. 

“We had about 110 farmers attend the awards night along with 30 sponsor businesses.”

The competition concluded with an awards ceremony compèred by Phil Reid and held at Pembroke Pavillion in Wanaka on Friday June 11, where the winners were announced and a fundraising auction held.

“The auction has been a real success and I can’t thank the businesses who supported us with prizes enough,” George said. “All the funds raised will go to the benefit of the Otago Rescue Helicopter.”

Auctioneer Craig Knight from PGG Wrightson.

Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust chief pilot Graeme Gale attended the awards night and was delighted the trust was to be the recipient charity.

“We can’t thank the Rotary Club of Wanaka and the farmers enough. Look at the room here tonight, the turnout and support is fantastic. It is a big deal, this is how we get the extra equipment, the medical equipment, to ensure we can give a service every time, anytime,” Graeme said. 

The supreme award went to Luggate-Tarras farmer Hayden Dickey. Hayden’s kale crop was described as exceptional by the judges. 

“It was a bit of a surprise really. We knew we had a good kale crop and I was happy for it to pull through in the end,” Hayden said.

Judges said they were looking for an exceptional crop that was weed free, with healthy plants, and a great weight. “We found it on Hayden’s farm,” George said.

Rotary Club of Wanaka president Mike Elliot said the cropping competition will now be an annual event on the Upper Clutha calendar. 

“George has done an amazing job pulling the event together and it has been embraced by the farming community. We’ll be adding this to our stable of annual fundraising events,” Mike said.

Mike said the Rotary Club of Wanaka chose the rescue helicopter as the recipient of funds raised as it’s “close to the hearts of farmers”. 

“Many work in isolated areas and knowing that there will be someone there in an emergency really provides peace of mind,” he said.

The Rotary Club of Wanaka is the official organiser of the Upper Clutha Cropping Competition which is supported by the Tarras School community and Tarras Young Farmers.

Crop Winners

Kale irrigated Hayden Dickey

Kale non-irrigated Digby Cochrane

Swedes irrigated Robbie Gibson

Swedes non-irrigated James Cochrane

Fodder Beet irrigated Simon Maling

Fodder Beet non-irrigated Donald Urquhart

Rape Robbie Gibson

Turnips Matt McLaughton

Mixed Crop Hamish MacKay

PHOTOS: Rotary Club of Wanaka