– The Gleaner
As crop and livestock production and productivity across the country continue to be negatively affected by a prolonged drought, two of the farmers who took top honours at the 2014 staging of the annual Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show are confident going into this year’s show, set for July 31 to August 2.
Champion Farmer Richard Bennett, who also took the award for Most Innovative Farmer, and Young Champion Farmer Sheldon Williams, who was also the second-place champion pig farmer, have expanded their operations since. Both men identified an investment in state-of-the-art technology as a major factor in their farming success, declaring that the drought has not been allowed to affect their operations.
“Dry season?” Bennett asked, before answering. “Because we live in the Bog Walk (St Catherine) area, right in the valley, we have good rainfall. So it may nuh fall a Kingston and it may nuh fall in St Ann, but we get good rainfall. We get once-a-week rainfall in the Bog Walk basin,” he boasted to The Gleaner.