It caps off a memorable few years for the Pannetts, who in 2008 sold Limehills Chiefton at the New Zealand Beef Expo for $40,000, and last year sold two bulls for $10,000 each at an on-farm auction.
The Pannetts have bred Hereford bulls for 20 years on their 2900ha property, which is split into four blocks running from the Clutha River up to Lake Onslow.
The New Zealand Hereford Association said the award identified a breeder who, through breeding objectives and farm management, had achieved the highest standards with Hereford cattle and their farming enterprise.
It said the Pannetts met that criteria given one-third of the farm was tussock country offering only summer grazing, yet they ran a profitable business with low labour, animal-health input and a reasonable use of fertiliser.