The eighth awards, run by Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI), were held in Glen Innes last Friday and attended by more than 130 people from across the region.

Lively Linseed was awarded the Innovation of the Year gong for its achievements in manufacturing, distributing and marketing milled linseed products.

RDANI chairman Russell Stewart said 60 entries had been judged across all categories and the standard was high.

“Every winner was pretty special. Aussies don’t like to blow their own trumpet and these awards have recognised outstanding regional innovators who have generally been quiet achievers, until now,” said Mr Stewart. 

“Lively Linseed is a great agricultural value-adding business and most of us didn’t know they existed.”

Lively Linseed, which also took out the Best Employment Agriculture/Horticulture and Associated Services category, went from growing a niche commodity to also being the manufacturer, distributor and marketer of nutritious milled linseed products, which range from course flour and breakfast cereals to biscuits and are exported to Asia. 

“This sort of recognition adds profile, integrity and credibility, particularly where exporting is concerned,” the company’s Jacqueline Donoghue said.

The guest speaker was UNE’s Professor David Lamb, whose Smart Farm project won the 2014 Innovation of the Year category at last year’s awards presentation in Moree.

Companies from around the region, including Gunnedah, Inverell, Tamworth and Armidale, were among the winners.

* A full wrap of the night and photos of the winners will be in tomorrow’s The Northern Daily Leader.