Tyler (right) & Madison (center) Hardy are presented with the 2016 Young Farmer Achievement Award from past Achievement Award winner Don Ross.

Concord, NH – The Young Farmer Achievement Award competition is designed to recognize young people between the ages of 18 to 35 who have excelled in their farming operation and have shown leadership abilities through Farm Bureau and in their community. The ideal candidate for the Achievement Award is an individual or couple involved in production agriculture with the majority of their income subject to normal production risk. The winner receives the use of a new Kubota tractor for six months or 250 hours from Pinnacleview Equipment in Walpole and will move on to the national competition in Phoenix, Arizona this January. A panel of judges consisting of Representative Tara Sad of Walpole, Samantha Stoddard from Farm Credit East in Bedford, and Don Ross of Rossview Farm in Concord selected Tyler & Madison Hardy of Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis as this year’s winners.

Tyler Hardy is a 6th generation farmer at Brookdale Fruit Farm.  His family farms fruit and vegetables and has won national recognition for its stewardship and conservation practices.  He enjoys all aspects of the fruit and vegetable industry, but his true passion is tree fruit, including different training systems and pruning.

Tyler’s wife, Madison, also works at Brookdale Fruit Farm. They met while Tyler was delivering produce to Moulton Farm in Meredith, NH where Madison formerly worked.  Madison now manages the greenhouses and special vegetable operations at Brookdale. She worked at Moulton Farm for 12 years and has worked at Brookdale for 4 years. They also enjoy downhill skiing, their dog Pilot, golf, and snowmobiling.

Also nominated for the award were Glen Putnam of Piermont, Jeff Moore or Loudon, and Ray & Jenny Sprague of Plainfield.