This year we would like to congratulate Rasa Prusakova, a participant of the Lithuanian Living Lab, and her family farm for winning the Future Rural Creators Awards presented by the Lithuanian Rural Network, which unites state and local self-government institutions, bodies and public legal entities involved in rural development processes related to agriculture, food, forestry and rural development. Here, the farm was recognised as the second best “Progressive Farm” for introducing innovations in agriculture.
This is not the only award for Rasa’s farm this year. Her family farm was also the winner of the “Good Farmer” championship. The championship is an initiative that brings together and showcases examples of farmers who farm in harmony with nature. Farmers are nominated by the public, then a panel of organisers selects the farms they visit and chooses them as ambassadors of the “Good Farmer” Championship. Rasa Prusakova’s farm, a participant in the Living Laboratory in Lithuania, has been nominated as one of the three Good Farmer Ambassadors for 2023 for its nature-friendly farming principles. The farm also won the event’s special nomination “Audience’s Sympathy”, i.e. Rasa’s farm received the most support from the voting public. The 40 hectare certified organic farm combines crop and livestock farming with a wide range of vegetables, chickens, turkeys and Highland cows. The farm’s aim is to create a food basket of healthy food for sale, primarily dominated by what they would love to eat themselves. Rasa says that taking part in competitions is like getting free advertisement, her family’s farm has become recognisable and new customers want to get to know and taste the products they grow.
The prize is presented to Rasa’s farm by the patron of the championship, Beata Nicholson, a culinary and environmental enthusiast.
