Public vote opens for "Sējējs 2026" People's Choice Award, with three Bauska nominees
Until September 19, anyone can vote for the People's Choice winner of the "Sējējs 2026" competition across eight categories, with three businesses from Bauska Municipality among the nominees.
The Ministry of Agriculture's "Sējējs 2026" competition has opened public voting for its People's Choice Award. Voting takes place at sejejs.lv/nominanti and runs until September 19, according to competition project manager Liene Valta.
Participants are being judged by the public in eight categories: Farm of the Year, Food Production Company of the Year, Rural Family, Successful Young Farmer, Local Food Retailer of the Year, Organic Farm, LEADER Project of the Year in a local action group, and Tomorrow's Sower (a youth 4-H category). Nominees represent various regions and fields, reflecting developments in agriculture, food production, entrepreneurship and local initiatives. The People's Choice Award is sponsored by AS "Dobeles dzirnavnieks".
How voting works
Voters can cast ballots online by selecting participants in the "Nominees" section. Multiple nominees can be supported in a single day, and a repeat vote for the same nominee is allowed after 24 hours, so voters need not pick just one favorite. On September 14, three voters will be drawn by lottery to receive invitations to the competition's closing ceremony, contacted via the email address provided during voting.
Bauska Municipality nominees
Three farms and companies from Bauska Municipality are among the nominees. In Code parish, the Jātnieks family farm "Vaidelotes", run by Arnolds Jātnieks and his son Mārtiņš Jātnieks-Borkovskis, grows grain, rapeseed and field beans on about 370 hectares while also developing rural tourism and Latvian traditions. In Rundāle parish, Agnese Gulbe's farm "Jaunapšenieki" grows blackberries, strawberries, sea buckthorn and tea herbs, producing teas, syrups and jams, with her farm's social media following numbering in the thousands. Meanwhile, SIA "DORMERS" in Lepšas produces sauces and spices under the "Oak'A BBQ" brand, increasingly exported to Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Finland.
"Sējējs" is one of the most significant annual events in Latvia's agriculture and rural development sector.
