Leilani Lobb Named 2026 Dairy Women’s Network Regional Leader of the Year
North Otago farmer Leilani Lobb has been named the 2026 Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) Regional Leader of the Year.
"All of us need to work together for the betterment of dairy woman and for the betterment of the New Zealand dairy industry to make it, firstly, more profitable – which we need at the moment and, secondly, more sustainable,"
Webber, a co-founder of DWN, was presented with a Certificate of Leadership and Service; she rejoined the board in 2013.
Trustee Cathy Brown says that in 1998 Webber, with other Waikato dairy women, had a dream to set up a professional body for dairy women.
They decided to use technology to link women and the first e-digest was established. "This was before rural broadband so that was no mean feat."
"DWN has grown from a Waikato group to a national organisation with over 8000. We are a world leader for women in dairy. We will always hear a voice which says 'think bigger, learn more'," Brown said.
That e-digest connection built relationships throughout NZ as women built their knowledge. It was a vital platform for learning from others and Webber actively shared her knowledge.
"I remember the hot conversations when Fonterra was formed; in fact I think we learnt more from those conversations than from the industry."
Webber became the founding chair in 2002 and the organisation was able to get funding to hire the first general manager, Linda Clark. On this platform Dairy Days were extended throughout the country.
"Hilary was passionate about continued learning and supporting women to be the best they could be for the business of dairy and she is very keen to continue that way with the regional groups in the area," Brown said.
Webber says the dream of a network for dairy women started for her as she visited farms as a director of Dairy Group.
"I saw women on farms in the early 1990s carrying buckets, doing the accounts, many of them in cowsheds milking, doing the office work and the cow records.... But when you went to dairy company meetings they weren't there," she said.
"They were the invisible, silent force of our industry. When I look back from 2015 to the early 1990s, what a wonderful change we've had. We have women now starting to come into the boardrooms in numbers."
