Bruce Gowrie-Smith, 74, said he was extremely proud, but the honour was a big surprise.

He received the medal for service to agriculture, rural development and the community.

Mr Gowrie-Smith said his time with the Hanwood Junior Farmer Club helped him gain skills that put him in good stead to become instrumental in the development of the agriculture industry.

At that time he had a rice farm at Kooba but he later went on to develop a property at Darlington Point and was one of the pioneer bore pumpers.

“I then went on to develop a whole range of properties along the Sturt Highway, including Woodlands, Huddersfield, Point Farms, Akuna, Kerarbury, Rudds Point and Burrabogie,” he said.

He was also involved with managing and designing Rudds Point and Burragogie.

Mr Gowrie-Smith recalled realising the advantage of developing irrigation in the area when it was discovered there was vast amounts of underground water in the Lower Murrumbidgee.

“A lot of us initially thought the water would run out but it’s been proved there’s a massive amount of water there and if it’s well managed it should be sustainable,” he said.

Mr Gowrie-Smith was also  Australian Coarse Grain Growers Association deputy chairman from 1970 to 1976 and was instrumental in developing the export of corn and sorghum.

“In the late ’70s and early ’80s there was a wheat quota crisis where the wheat prices were so cheap that any alternative grains that could not find a home needed to be exported,” he said.

“I was one of the founding directors of the Australian Coarse Grain Growers Association and we set up a whole export arm.”

Mr Gowrie-Smith said he was greatly mentored and guided by Kevin Kelly of Finley and helped set up a bulk depot in Geelong which received and loaded tens of thousands of tonnes of sorghum, corn and sunflowers in the late ’70s.

As Rural Industries Research and Development Board member, Mr Gowrie-Smith played a major role in introducing and establishing the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and remains a founding governor.

The foundation has more than 600 graduates across Australia and its $1 million annual funding is now sourced mainly from commodity and corporate interests.

Mr Gowrie-Smith was also a Rural Press board member from 1986 to 2007, a pioneer and formation chair of the Ground Water Users Association, Riverina Development Board director, formation chair and executive member of the Riverina Food Network, Oilseed Research Committee of NSW chairman,  and a United Farmers and Woolgrowers Association of NSW council member.

Mr Gowrie-Smith received an honourary Doctor of Science form Charles Sturt University in 1996 and the P&0 Canberra Award after six months representing NSW on a Young Farmer Scholarship to the UK in 1965.

Mr Gowrie-Smith sold Huddersfield and Koonawarra in 2010 but retained his plum farm.

He is now trialling prune exports to California and keeps fit by driving one of his road trains.