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Agricultural Town of the Year celebration at Pinnaroo

Pinnaroo locals celebrated their town being named the 2020 Agricultural Town of the Year with a community lunch and a new sign on Sunday.

May 03, 2021, updated May 03, 2021
Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister David Basham unveiled the 2020 Agricultural Town of Year sign at the entrance of Pinnaroo in May.

Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister David Basham unveiled the 2020 Agricultural Town of Year sign at the entrance of Pinnaroo in May.

Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister David Basham unveiled the sign at the entrance of Pinnaroo, recognising the vital role the town plays in the regional landscape.

More than 200 locals gathered for a community lunch, live music and face painting to celebrate having been chosen for the award that acknowledges their proud history of agricultural excellence and innovative businesses.

“It’s recognition of our producers’ commitment to agriculture particularly through their passion for their industry, their resilience and their adaptability,” said local Andrea Sparnon, who nominated Pinnaroo for the award.

The town was awarded the annual event at InDaily’s Regional Showcase Awards in February at O’Leary Walker wines in Clare. Pinnaroo is the second town to be recognised, after Cleve won the inaugural award in 2019.

The Agricultural Town of the Year Award recognises South Australian towns that are excelling in agricultural practices and the flow-on effect they have on communities.

After suffering from the recent border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pinnaroo community had to stay closely connected and actively support local farmers, associated businesses and each other.

“Pinnaroo’s success has relied on a thriving agricultural sector that has been built and nurtured by generations of farming families in what can be at times a challenging and isolated environment,” said Southern Mallee District Council Mayor Jeff Nickolls.

Despite facing droughts and frost, the Pinnaroo producers found ways to adapt by embracing the latest science, technology and innovation and sharing their knowledge with the industry.

“One of the greatest factors in the success of our farmers across diverse fields from broadacre farming to potato growing, turf production and more is their commitment to innovation,” said Mayor Nickolls.

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“We are delivering projects and policies that revitalise our town centres, increase recreation, tourism and vibrancy, attract new businesses to the area, support the growing workforce by establishing childcares centres and create strategies to increase local housing supply.”

Pinnaroo’s community contributed to the town’s success through events and initiatives such as the Pinnaroo Show, Field Day, wetlands development, Pinnaroo Community Gym and the Pinnaroo Project.

The Agricultural Town of the Year is an initiative of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions and was administered by Solstice Media, the publisher of InDaily, in 2020.

The program provides an avenue where communities can learn from one another which will play a role in building capacity and increasing growth in regional South Australia.

In 2020 the program received 70 town nominations and Pinnaroo finished ahead of four other finalists – Kimba, Parndana, Kapunda and Woodside – to be crowned South Australia’s top agriculture town.

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