30 October 2009

ENTRIES OPEN IN DAIRY AWARDS

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are now calling for entries in its 2010 competitions – the Sharemilker of the Year, Farm Manager of the Year and Dairy Trainee of the Year.

National Convenor Chris Keeping says organisers hope more than 400 sharemilkers, equity farm managers, contract milkers, farm managers and dairy trainees will enter one of the three competitions.

Ms Keeping says people first enter one of 12 regional competitions being held throughout the country, with the winners from each of the regional competitions all progressing to a national final. In 2010 the national final will be held in Rotorua in May.

“This is the third time we’ve run the three competitions under the same umbrella and the benefits are beginning to flow, as people are able to progress through the awards as they progress through the dairy industry.

“One of our farm manager winners in 2009 had previously been a dairy trainee winner. It’s our hope that people will recognise the benefits and experiences they gain from entering the dairy trainee or farm manager contest to then enter the farm manager or sharemilker competition as they advance their dairy career.”

She says entering the awards is great for a CV and it can also be lucrative. In 2010 entrants will compete for a total prize pool of more than $700,000 across the regional and national competitions.

“The sharemilker contest is the country’s longest-running dairy farming competition and over the years we have found that overwhelmingly people enter it for the experiences gained.

“They learn a lot – from judges, other entrants and industry or sponsor representatives – and gain skills and recognition that they would otherwise not receive,” Ms Keeping says.

The Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner Agriculture ITO.

Entries open on November 1 and will close on December 24. Entry forms can be downloaded at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.