The Slovenian NEWBIE Award 2020 competition has opened for new entrants
The last from three NEWBIE Award competitions in Slovenia has opened for new entrants. NEWBIE award will recognize the work and innovation of new entrants to farming that have set up their business within the last 2–10 years, innovatively overcome hurdles (access to market, land, capital, labour, etc.) and who will inspire other farmers, especially one of the beginning of their career.
For winner, (international) training and/or recording promotion video and/or invitation to attend international NEWBIE conference will be available and chosen according to the needs of the farmer. The competition is run online and new entrants can apply here: https://geo.ff.uni-lj.si/obvestila/razpis-za-nagrado-newbie-2020. The application process is opened till 1st of December, 2020.
Winners of year 2018 and 2019
In 2018, the new entrant Matjaž Turinek from Biodynamic farm Zlate misli – Golden thougts was a winner. With an agriculture background, but he started from the scratch with innovative approaches: production, processing and selling. The farm has developed a wide range of knowledge transfer, including international exchanges of trainees, exchange of volunteers and woofing. The winner decided to use NEWBIE award for international training in Dornach, Switzerland and recording promotion video of the farm (available here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mtms2Qlz8Q&t=12s). Award ceremony was held within the occasion of the 5th Slovenian Rural Parliament in October, 2019.
In 2019, second NEWBIE Award winner was a young newcomer Domen Virant from Kmetija Pri Ropet, Volčji Potok. He took over the abandoned farm from his grandparents in 2015 and started a new farm business from the beginning. He decided to develop very diverse business orientations, where he derived from the available resources. In just a few years he developed a market-oriented farm. Although he is young and still in the process of learning all the time, he is already implementing mentoring programs for farmers or new entrants who want to farm dairy goats or growing berries. Award ceremony was held during NEWBIE international event at the beginning of February in Ljubljana. There was an opportunity to meet NEWBIE Award winners from other countries.
