Queensland pastoralist Ardie Lord and New South Wales mixed farmer Danny Flanery have each been named a recipient of the inaugural Rabobank Land Stewardship Award.
The new award program – which will run annually – recognises Australian farmers who are "putting thoughtful, practical land stewardship into action to strengthen their farm business operations while aiming to deliver environmental benefits", Alison Osborne, chief sustainability officer for the agribusiness bank, said.
Announcing the 2026 award recipients, Rabobank Australia group executive Country Banking Marcel van Doremaele said both inaugural winners had distinguished themselves with "their progressive approach to caring for their land while contributing to a strong, productive and sustainable agricultural sector".
"Both Danny and Ardie have successfully demonstrated they have put in place very practical actions that strengthen the long-term performance of their businesses and the health of the land they manage," he said.
Mr van Doremaele said across Australia, farmers were "investing in healthy soils, biodiversity, water management and more resilient production systems, with a shared belief that healthy land is the foundation of a successful business and a resilient, future-ready agricultural sector".
"The expectation is that improving the condition of the land will support productivity, reduce risk and strengthen long-term business performance," he said.
"As a food and agribusiness bank, our success is closely connected to the success of Australia's farmers. This award is an opportunity to recognise and share those stories and to showcase what land stewardship looks like in practice across different regions, sectors and farming systems."
Mr Flanery, who runs a third-generation mixed grazing and cropping operation 'Boorowa Flats' at Galong in southern New South Wales, has focused on long-term landscape repair through tree planting, creek protection and adaptive grazing management.
This followed a chance helicopter joy flight above his family farming property in 1990s, where he saw first-hand the impacts of many years of overgrazing on the land quality.
"I thought those things need to be addressed or we won't be here in five years time," he said.
From there, Mr Flanery set out to work to restore the landscape on his property, with his approach contributing to improvements in soil health, water quality, biodiversity and livestock performance.
"The first thing I did was the creeks because there was a lot of erosion on our creeks because the stock were just always in and out. And then the rocky outcrops. And what was meant to be just a couple of years of 'let's just fix a few problems', I fixed all my problems and then I'd run out of things to fix and kept going," he said.
Mr van Doremaele said Mr Flanery's actions had strongly suggested that sustained stewardship can strengthen both land condition and business outcomes.
Mr van Doremaele said Mr Lord – who runs large beef operation Lord Pastoral Group, based in Richmond, Queensland – was a prime example of how the health of the land underpinned the entire philosophy of the business.
"Operating at scale across north-western Queensland, Lord Pastoral Group demonstrates how grazing management, water infrastructure and technology can be applied to improve landscape function and resilience in pastoral systems," he said.
"Ardie and his business's approach – with its long-term focus on managing grazing pressure to improve land condition, lifting herd productivity and strong livestock management and handling practices – highlights how large-scale operations can integrate productivity, people and environmental stewardship across highly variable environments."
Mr Lord said while every landscape in Lord Pastoral Group's operations had a different approach, the key learnings were very similar – "making a landscape healthier, keeping water on our land, having more complex ecosystems with more perennial plants and deeper rooted plants and then having animals that are highly adapted and fertile and productive to utilise it". Mr Lord said the approaches they had put into place were "really simple things, but they're big for the economics of an operation".
"It's sustainability in any business, which it's about growth and it's about profitability. There's no sustainability in a broke business and there's no succession in a business that isn't growing," he said.
The Rabobank Land Stewardship Awards – which are open to the specialist global agribusiness bank's client base throughout Australia – are selected through an employee voting process, incorporating both a specialist technical panel assessment and a broader staff vote.
This year's winners were chosen from a field of 40 applicants – and a shortlist of six – from across the country.
Both winners will each receive a place in the Rabobank Executive Development Program, a prestigious trans-Tasman course developed for progressive farmers to build their strategic planning capabilities and commercial management skills to assist in business growth (individually valued at $16,500).
Disclaimer: Overview of the Award The Rabobank Land Stewardship Award recognises certain clients selected by Rabobank who, in Rabobank's assessment, have demonstrated efforts to strengthen the operational resilience and sustainability of their farm businesses while seeking to deliver positive environmental outcomes.
Assessment process and methodology Award recipients are assessed based on information provided to Rabobank by applicants as part of the application process and assessment criteria determined by Rabobank at the time of evaluation. The evaluation conducted by Rabobank is inherently qualitative and involves the exercise of judgement.
Use of environmental frameworks and standards While Rabobank may have had regard to certain recognised environmental frameworks or standards in developing the assessment criteria, it does not represent or warrant that such criteria are fully aligned with, or equivalent to, those frameworks or standards.
Limitations of environmental outcomes Any environmental outcomes described may have been based on estimates or forward-looking statements and are subject to methodological limitations and factors outside Rabobank's control.
No endorsement, advice or guarantee of outcomes The granting by Rabobank of an Award does not constitute an endorsement, certification or verification by Rabobank of a recipient's financial performance, environmental outcomes or ongoing practices. The Award, and any information published in relation to a recipient's practices relating to the Award, is not intended to provide and must not be relied upon as financial, legal, environmental or other professional advice. Rabobank does not represent or guarantee that any other person will achieve the same or similar outcomes described by Award recipients.
Accuracy of information and limitation of liability Rabobank has sought to accurately reflect the information provided by Award recipients in all relevant publications but does not represent, guarantee or warrant that it is complete or accurate. The views and opinions expressed are those of the clients quoted or are paraphrased from information provided by them, and reflect their experiences and judgements. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Rabobank makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any information presented, including in any case study video or in relation to Award recipients' practices.
