Kadwell & Co Gourmet Potatoes wins From the Earth trophy at 2026 Produce Awards - Produce Awards

Aug 04, 2026

This award-winning NSW farmer has unearthed a simple but indisputable fact: that conservation is the key to flavour.

For a potato farmer, Garry Kadwell sure cares a lot about trees. But once you’ve spent a little time getting to know him, you start to understand why. Kadwell doesn’t just ‘grow potatoes’. He nourishes the land in which his potatoes grow. And boy, are those potatoes something. Because, of course, all the best farmers know that when it comes to the best-quality food, everything leads back to the land in which they grow.

Kadwell often shares a saying that he heard from his father when he was young: “It takes a wise man a lifetime to grow a tree, and a fool five minutes to kill one.” This perfectly captures this fourth-generation farmer’s ethos: you can’t get the most from the land unless you give the most to it. His family has been farming the region since 1901, and Kadwell has dedicated his working life to nurturing and rehabilitating his property, near Crookwell in the NSW Southern Tablelands – ushering nature in, so that it can do what it does best: heal, flourish and give back in spades.

The ‘ecological zones’ that Kadwell has created – lush understory, thriving wetlands, trees for days – are no small undertaking. He has dedicated over a third of his property entirely to conservation, creating a remarkable mini-ecosystem that basically looks after itself. There is no need for insecticides or chemical fertilisers here; the rich biodiversity of the land handles the pests naturally.

As for those spuds? The rich soil brings forth a carb-lover’s paradise of amazing gourmet potatoes, the likes of which delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards National Judge and respected chef and restaurateur Matt Moran calls, “exceptional; the best I’ve ever tasted”.

Alongside classic kipflers, Dutch cream and the vibrant delights of Red Smash and Purple Passion, Kadwell is famous for cultivating Andean Sunrise – an ancient, golden-fleshed Peruvian variety with a uniquely nutty flavour that has captivated the country’s top chefs.

So exceptional are these spuds, they’ve earned Kadwell the From the Earth trophy at this year’s Produce Awards. The cheeky farmer won everyone over with his chosen outfit for the event – a dinner suit jacket and bow tie paired with black Canterbury shorts and elastic-sided boots. As the event dress code was labelled as ‘cocktail’, Kadwell quipped, “I’m a farmer – how am I supposed to know what ‘cocktail’ means?”

Garry Kadwell at the 2026 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards — Garry Kadwell in his shorts at the award ceremony.

This isn’t the first time Kadwell has been recognised. He was also named Producer of the Year in 2020, and was a National Finalist in 2025. He also just happens to be a genuinely lovely bloke.

“Garry Kadwell doesn’t just grow some of the best potatoes in the country, he’s got a heart of gold,” Moran adds. “Visiting his farm at Crookwell is always a privilege.”

It’s delicious proof that when a farmer truly collaborates with nature, the results will speak – and taste – for themselves. Now, will someone pass the potatoes?