Minimising cultivation impacts in broadacre cropping
Simon White is a farmer and entrepreneur based in Otane, Hawke’s Bay. He and his wife, Lou, have built a diverse operation with soil health at its core. They have a mix of arable cropping and sheep and beef finishing across 1100 hectares which has been in their family for three generations. Simon and Lou won the regional supreme title at the 2025 East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards, which recognised their focus on sustainability and business success built on diversification and innovation.
Simon is a long-time user of direct drilling and strip tilling on his farm. He sees major benefits in time saving, fuel economy and soil health. He will describe his use of these techniques in his arable, seed production and process vegetable systems.
