Neil Wilke named as South Africa’s leading dairy steward for 2023

Niel Wilke of Glentana Farm in Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape was announced as the winner of the Milk Producers Organisation (MPO) Nedbank Stewardship Award 2023 at a ceremony held at Nampo Cape on Wednesday 13 September.

The highly respected award recognises dairy farmers who are excellent stewards of their farming enterprises. Stewardship addresses sustainability in the wider context and encompasses aspects such as protecting our natural resources, fair and ethical treatment of people and animals, producing a safe and healthy product, and farming profitably.

The other three finalists were Dian Landman from the Eastern Cape, Coenraad Basson from the Western Cape, and Shaun van Huyssteen from KwaZulu-Natal.

MPO Chief Executive, Fanie Ferreira, said that out of the nine nominations received, the four finalists were exceptional. ‘It was extremely difficult to select a winner from the four – they all love what they do, they are so committed to this journey and their approach to their staff is nothing short of inspirational. In the end, it was Niel’s approach to staff development that clinched the award for him.

It is clear that Niel is passionate about the importance of creating an environment where each team member can take true ownership of what has been entrusted to them. He believes that the farm belongs to each employee as much as it does to him and that they’re all working together to achieve the shared goal of growing their business. Employee development is a crucial part of sustainable farming and it’s obvious that Niel manages this successfully,’ says Ferreira.

For Wilke, sustainability is about being a custodian for future generations. ‘Our stewardship journey started with paying attention to soil health. Optimising our soil health led to healthier feed, which resulted in healthier and happier cows, and ultimately reduced costs in terms of inputs and transport. So the financial viability of farming sustainably is the greatest, most immediate benefit – but it’s about sustainability and resilience in all its forms, and empowering staff as to truly be partners in your endeavours is very much part of that.

Daneel Rossouw, Head of Sales for Agriculture at Nedbank Commercial Banking, says this is the fifth year that Nedbank has sponsored this important award, which is in line with the bank’s commitment to mitigating climate change. ‘Climate change is one of the defining systemic issues of the 21st century. Without urgent, unprecedented action and cooperation from all stakeholders, prospects for economic development, food security and societal well-being are expected to deteriorate. Failure to address climate change will commit the African continent to a much more challenging and less prosperous future as Africa is highly exposed to physical impacts and often lacks the capacity to respond to them.’

‘This reality underpins much of what we support at Nedbank. Strategically, we aim to not only be good with money, but more importantly – to do good with it. This sponsorship strongly reflects that,’ he says.

Rossouw says that Nedbank believes it has a significant role to play in helping the agricultural sector evolve to a more efficient and productive model through sustainable business practices. ‘Climate change, soil health, water efficiency and renewable energy are key focus areas and we have created innovative financial products designed to support our clients with sustainable farming interventions.’

‘However, we believe that our role goes beyond simply financing the transition. We use our financial expertise and understanding of the sector to raise awareness about climate risk and the business case for sustainable farming. Our sponsorship of these awards, which recognise and reward farmers who are adopting industry best practices, is also about raising awareness. Our sponsorship objectives are to recognise and reward the climate-smart practises that are successfully applied on each farm; to share this knowledge and these successes with others; and to create greater awareness about climate change among dairy farmers. This will equip them with the knowledge they need to farm climate-smart – and to do it in a way that promotes excellent stewardship,’ he says.