Employers Encourage Staff to Enter Dairy Awards

Employers Encourage Staff to Enter Dairy Awards

Encouraging staff to enter the 2015 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards will assist their progress in the dairy industry.

Richard and Joanna Greaves have always had staff members enter the awards – the Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, Farm Manager of the Year and Dairy Trainee of the Year competitions – and expect two of their staff to enter the 2015 awards.

Entries in the awards are now being accepted online at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz and close on November 30.

The Greaves are currently 50% sharemilking 1400 cows at Darfield, Canterbury, after beginning their dairy farming career in Hawkes Bay in 2007. With professional backgrounds and the assistance of the dairy industry awards, the couple has made rapid progress. Richard Greaves was runner-up in the 2009 Hawkes Bay Farm Manager of the Year contest and the couple won the 2011 Hawkes Bay Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year title.

“We were encouraged to enter the awards and have found them to be an incredible opportunity to benchmark against others and to challenge yourself and to grow.

“The dairy awards give you credibility, open opportunities and have been integral to our progress. Certainly, having the dairy awards on our CV opened a lot of doors when we shifted to Canterbury,” Mrs Greaves says. “We can see how we have been able to grow through those opportunities, so to be able to give our guys and girls that same sort of push is really rewarding.”

She says it is satisfying to see staff progress in the industry. A staff member had been a shepherd on a sheep and beef farm since leaving school and had been unable to progress in the sector. He switched to dairy farming and in less than three years he has gone from a trainee, to herd manager, to now managing a dairy farm. “We find that hugely rewarding.”

“When our team is motivated to progress and are achieving their goals, by default we are achieving our goals and efficiencies are created. It is a win win for everyone. The dairy awards are an integral driver for this.

“It is our belief when employees have that passion to progress and challenge themselves, they tend to have the right attitude, they want to learn and grow and they are the people we want on our team,” Mrs Greaves says.

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

Further information on the awards and the competitions can be found at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.

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