The Icelandic Agricultural Award 2025 – A Great Honour

It was a great honour for us when Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Minister of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture, presented us, Stefanía Hjördís Leifsdóttir and Jóhannes Ríkarðsson, with the Agricultural Award for 2025 on March 20th.

We are deeply grateful and humbled by this recognition of our work here at Brúnastaðir. It encourages us to keep doing what we are passionate about: developing a sustainable, diverse, and responsible farming practice in close harmony with nature and the community around us.

At the award ceremony, the minister described Brúnastaðir’s contribution as “diverse and impactful,” and praised our work in innovation, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. That kind of acknowledgement means a lot to us, because it reflects precisely what we strive for every day in our work.

At Brúnastaðir, we combine traditional Icelandic farming with food production, tourism, and education. We care for over 800 sheep and 80 goats, and during the summer, we welcome visitors to our petting zoo, offering an engaging and educational experience for all ages.

We began cheese production in 2020 and now make both goat and sheep milk products with a strong focus on quality, craftsmanship, and natural methods. Our cheeses have received attention both in Iceland and abroad, and in 2022, we were honoured to be nominated for the Embla Nordic Food Awards.

Sustainability is a core value in everything we do. To contribute to carbon sequestration, we have planted over 70,000 trees across 32 hectares and taken part in the “Climate-Friendly Agriculture” project.

Social responsibility is also close to our hearts – we have been foster parents for 27 years and have hosted students from the Greenlandic Agricultural School. We regularly organise educational visits for schools, tourists, and other interested groups.

It was especially meaningful that Stefanía’s parents, Leifur Þórarinsson and Kristín Bára Ólafsdóttir, received the same award in 2001 for their work on the family farm in Keldudal, Hegranes. The award is a strong reminder that we are building on the foundations laid by those who came before us.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years – family, colleagues, guests, and friends. This recognition is not just for us, but also for all those who have helped us on this journey.