Agricultural Town of the Year Award
Established in 2019, the South Australian Agricultural Town of the Year Award recognises SA towns that excel in agricultural practices and are great places to live and work.
In addition to being recognised as the South Australian Agricultural Town of the Year, the winning town receives:
- town entrance sign recognising their achievement
- certificate and trophy presented by the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development
- community event and sign unveiling to celebrate the town's achievement
- double-page feature in SALIFE magazine
- media exposure
- video and stories published to showcase the achievements of individuals and businesses that have made a significant contribution to the town
- networking opportunities with other regional towns.
The award is an initiative of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions and is delivered in partnership with InDaily. It highlights the vital role that agriculture plays in regional development.
2026 Agricultural Town of the Year winner
The Riverland town of Waikerie has been named the winner of the 2026 Agricultural Town of the Year Award, recognising its pursuit of excellence in agriculture and regional development.
Waikerie was recognised for its strong vision for the future of primary industries, and its willingness to continue to grow and evolve, including looking beyond its own borders for ideas and opportunities to bolster and fortify agricultural opportunities for years to come. Waikerie was also commended for the way the town involves young people and students in telling Waikerie’s story, giving the next generation an opportunity to shape the current and future narrative of their town by sharing their own experiences and perspectives.
Wakerie is one of the nation's food bowls, but there's far more on the table in this enterprising town.
Once known primarily for citrus, Wakerie's farmers are embracing new ideas, diversifying, value adding, and taking the region's produce to markets around the world.
But the innovation doesn't stop in the paddocks. At the local school, the next generation is being encouraged to think differently and explore new possibilities, while across town, local businesses are finding new ways to process, market, and add value to everything this productive region grows.
Wakerie is a town that understands that agriculture is not standing still, it's evolving, and Wakerie is evolving with it.
The beginning of Wakerie was, um, against all odds, almost. So, we've had to get in and do it ourselves.
In Wakerie, we have access to so much, ah, product, from the traditional citrus, but we also get tomatoes, capsicums, lots of fresh veg. It just illustrates that there's so much you can grow.
Agriculture is slowly shifting. People are definitely looking at, um, that diversification and something else to grow. I'm trying to get out of that, uh, you know, generic mould that everyone grows citrus or wine grapes. And obviously there's not a lot of dates, um, imported into Australia, so I saw it as a bit of a niche market. I've got a mate that's growing seed canola and he's doing the seed, um, seed potatoes, um, and obviously the jujubes. You want to try and control your own destiny a little bit and, um, yeah, to go into that more niche market, you can, sort of, do that direct sell to the consumer, um and sort of control your, control your price point and your destiny a little bit more.
Having someone local that can value add it for me and, and on on sell those seconds is a huge benefit for me.
The value of following a product through or creating something, um, gives you value in the value chain. There's lots of little niches that we can all fill, um, and connect with people who really want to connect with the food that they eat.
This ethos begins at the school where students work with local businesses and producers to develop a range of skills for their futures.
We need creative thinkers. We need intuitive thinkers. My aim is to really try and give our students so much of an experience that uh that they are able to sort of see and do, erm, what they would do out in the field so that they'll go into it and be a a valuable resource for our future. There are so many wonderful people in this uh in our town that I get a lot of help and support from. It's about showing them that there are so many different jobs within the agriculture industry.
Despite all that's going on in commodity pricing and everything that we're actually growing and becoming more vibrant, very welcoming as a community
With innovative farmers, ambitious businesses, an engaged community and a focus on the future, Wakerie is showing what's possible when a town is prepared to experiment, adapt, and look beyond the familiar. That spirit of drive, determination, and creative thinking has earned Wakerie the title of the 2026 Agricultural Town of the Year.