SA’s Top 10 agricultural towns revealed for 2025
The 2025 Agricultural Town of the Year Top 10 towns have been announced, showcasing towns across the state and highlighting the diversity of South Australian farming.
The state’s Mid North is represented by Jamestown and Orroroo, known for cereal cropping and sheep grazing, while Kimba and Cummins on the Eyre Peninsula focus on broadacre grain production.
Port MacDonnell reflects the South East’s seafood industry, particularly rock lobster, and Bordertown, Keith and Lameroo represent the Upper South East and Mallee regions, producing wool, lucerne seed and grains.
Strathalbyn and Mount Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu region round out the list, with a focus on sheep, cattle and vineyards.
The annual awards are an initiative of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), recognising South Australian towns that excel in agricultural practices and are great places to live and work.
The Top 10 were selected based on the highest number of public votes, from a record 96 nominated South Australian towns — the most in the award’s history.
For the next step in the selection process, the Top 10 towns will provide written submissions, from which an independent judging panel will narrow down to three finalist towns.
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Once the three finalist towns have been selected, the judges will journey across the state, visiting each town to see firsthand the agricultural innovation and community spirit in action.
This year’s judging panel includes Primary Producers SA chair Simon Maddocks, CEO of the South Australian Produce Market Angelo Demasi, and CEO of Woodside Cheese Wrights Kris Lloyd AM.
Maddocks returns to the judging panel for his fourth year in 2025. He says the judges receive consistent feedback each year from finalist towns about how powerful the awards process is in prompting communities to recognise their achievements.
“It forces a reflection and a reappraisal of all the positive things that are actually happening within a community that a lot of people take for granted,” Maddocks says.
“It also encourages those communities to stop and think about all the good things that are happening. Particularly in a year like this with drought, it’s easy to get tied up in all the challenges, but what gets communities through a bad year like this quite often is the strength in that community.
“They help each other, they stand together. That’s what gets people through difficult times.”
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He says the awards shine a spotlight on regional towns and offer well-deserved recognition for primary industries.
“It’s important to understand the significance of regional communities and how important they are to the economy,” he says.
“I think a program that celebrates the integrity of those communities, highlights agriculture as the reason that they were probably formed in the first place, and what has kept them going in many cases for several hundred years, is really important.”
The Agricultural Town of the Year awards began in 2019. Past winners have spanned the state including Penola, Wudinna, Mypolonga, Kimba, Pinnaroo and Cleve. Their stories have uncovered hardship, strength, resilience and vital contributions that support the future of farming and agricultural communities.
Maddocks says what stands out most to him as a judge is the pride he sees in the locals.
“People are proud of what their community is up to, and they’re delighted to be able to talk about it,” he says.
“Making it to the finals is quite a significant achievement. I love visiting the finalists because you see towns that are putting their best foot forward. They’re talking up the positives that they’ve created together, they’re talking up the challenges and how they’re addressing those challenges, and they’re talking about how they’re making positive change out of things that may not be working as well as they want.
“Successful towns have usually managed to put their youth forward and we get to see what the young people and the future is looking like, and how they’re supporting and growing that commitment for young people to that region.”
Each of the three finalist towns will have a written article and video produced by Solstice Media, the publisher of InDaily.
The winning town for 2025 will be announced at InDaily’s Regional Showcase Awards in November, where the Hon Clare Scriven, MLC, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development will present them with a trophy and certificate.
The winner will also receive a town entry sign to mark their achievement, as well as a feature in SALIFE, and a community celebration event.
