The Meatco Producer of the Year Awards were held on Friday 10 March 2017 at the Arebbusch Travel Lodge in Windhoek. The awards, hosted under the theme Namibian Sunrise, rewarded 74 of the finest cattle producers in the country in 13 categories.

Producer of the Year Dirk Uys

The awards were made possible thanks to the support of five sponsors, namely Hollard Insurance that contributed N$165 000, Feedmaster and Standard Bank who each sponsored N$10 000, and SWAVET with a N$5 000 sponsorship.

However, the night belonged to the award winners.

The winners in each of the respective categories are:

•               Producer of the Year: Commercial - Dirk Matthysen Uys

•               Producer of the Year: Communal - Esegiel Nguvauva

•               Golden Producer 2017 - Wilhelm Gerd Diekmann

•               Top Five Producer: Slaughter Commercial - Dirk Matthysen Uys

•               Top Five Producer: Slaughter Communal - Esegiel Nguvauva

•               Top Regional Producer: Slaughter Commercial - Reiner Stommel (Kunene)

•               Top Regional Producer: Slaughter Communal - Jekura Uairika Kavari (Kunene)

•               Top Five Producers: Live Sales Commercial - Omaruru Slagtery

•               Top Five Producers: Live Sales Communal - Uaavi Kandirikirira

•               Top Regional Producer: Live Sales Commercial - PS Gouws T/A Etobra Brahmane (Kunene)

•               Producer of the Month - Cordova Farming CC

•               BIG 5: Cattle Slaughtered - Kavango Cattle Ranch

•               BIG 5: Cattle Live Sales - Cuffs Cattle Enterprise

This year’s guest speaker was Mr Gunnar Dalen from Global Protein Solutions (GPS) Norway, an avid farmer and professional accountant with a wealth of experience in the farming business. He shared his view on how the Namibian farming environment was similar to that of Norway, in a sense that it is difficult and that the two countries experience more or less the same challenges.

“I have a dream to see a producer-owned and producer-governed farming sector for the greater good of the Namibian farmer, workers and the entire sector,” Dalen said.

Meatco’s Chairperson Dr. Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun, welcomed the producers and thanked them for their commitment towards the company through difficult times such as the drought of 2016 which has persisted since 2014. At the event, she also announced that the Meatco Board had approved a 75c per kilogramme producers’ bonus to be awarded to farmers for their hard work.

The 2017 awards recognised farmers who produced and delivered top quality cattle to Meatco for slaughtering and feedlot purposes during a severe drought, while displaying their passion and commitment towards the farming sector.

Several criteria determined the winners in different categories, including the quantity of animals delivered, carcass conformation, fat grade and animal average daily gain (ADG).