Winners of the Ministry of Agriculture's "Sējējs 2026" competition announced

An award ceremony held on Saturday, September 19, at the "Hanzas perons" culture center in Riga announced the winners of the Ministry of Agriculture's "Sējējs 2026" ("The Sower") competition. This year's edition was the 33rd, with laureates recognized in nine categories.

The lifetime achievement award in agriculture went to Daina Jonkus, a professor at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. The farm of the year title was awarded to AS "Pampāļi", while SIA "Skrīne" was named food production company of the year. In the "Family on the Farm" category, the Mežiniece family from the Aglona parish of Preiļi municipality took the honor, and Žanis Agafonovs was recognized as the year's successful young farmer. SIA "Rimi Latvia" was named local food retailer of the year, and SIA "Lāses AM" pure-breed cattle farm "Kolumbi" won the organic farm category. The LEADER project of the year award went to SIA "MetWorks" together with the association "SATEKA", while the Ludza 4-H-style youth group (752nd "mazpulks") won the "Sower of Tomorrow" category.

Agriculture Minister Uldis Augulis said the competition honors farmers who work daily, regardless of circumstances, to ensure the country's residents have food on the table, calling "Sējējs" a celebration of Latvia's work ethic.

Judging and public vote

Eight of the categories were judged by panels of industry professionals, while the Agricultural Advisory Council decided the lifetime achievement award. Separately, a month-long online public vote let the public choose a favorite among all competition participants, drawing 40,343 voters in total. Agnese Gulbe won the public recognition award with 9,807 votes.

Winners received a bronze statuette, a diploma and a cash prize. Since last year, the application process for the competition has been simplified, allowing entrants to apply online.