Dairy Awards Finals Judges Clock up the KM’s
Dairy Awards Finals Judges Clock up the Km’s
Final judging in the 2015 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards is underway, with judges set to travel thousands of kilometres and the length and breadth of the country to select the winners.
“There’s a lot at stake for the finalists as success in any one of the competitions can open up considerable opportunities and be career and life-changing,” national convenor Chris Keeping says.
“It’s also a time when both the finalists and judges gain from participating in the awards – through learning about their farm business, defining goals and identifying opportunities to make improvements.”
Mrs Keeping says the winners of the 2015 New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competitions will be announced in Auckland on May 2 and share $180,000 in prizes.
The three
Sharemilker/Equity Farmer judges began in Palmerston North
yesterday and will complete the on-farm judging component of
the competition in Whangarei next Wednesday The judges – led by Westpac’s Mark
Horgan and including DairyNZ’s Abby Scott and Thames
farmer Neil Gray – will drive 1592km and catch eight
flights as they visit the finalists on farms stretching from
Kamo in the north, to Tussock Creek down south, Opotiki in
the east and Manaia in the west. “The judges
certainly get to see the country and some of our more
out-of-the-way places. They’re there for a job though and
know the time and effort the finalists will have taken to
prepare their presentations. They want to hear about the
things the finalists do every day in their farming
lives.”
The Farm Manager judges are led by Dipton
farmer Richard Jones and include Westpac’s Hamish Taylor
and DairyNZ’s Richard Kyte. “The farm manager
judges start in Invercargill and will drive 1679km, which is
estimated to take about 23 hours. They’ll also catch five
flights as they traverse the country to meet the 11
finalists over the course of 10 days.” Mrs Keeping
says the Farm Manager judges will get to places like
Cheviot, Reefton, Featherston, Whakatane, Cambridge and
Dargaville. The finalists again have two hours to
present their farm business and goals to the judges and will
also participate in a final interview on May 1. The
judging for those contesting the 2015 New Zealand Dairy
Trainee of the Year competition is different, with all
finalists going on a three-day study tour of the Central
Plateau and Waikato regions. During the tour they will
compete in a practical skills session and they also have a
final interview component. The New Zealand Dairy
Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac,
DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda
Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy, New Zealand Farm Source,
Ravensdown, and Triplejump, along with industry partner
Primary ITO. Visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz for more
information on the finalists and awards
programme. ENDS