300 dairy award entries so far

National convenor Chris Keeping is pleased with entry numbers and the level of interest in the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competitions.

"We are past halfway in our entry target this year, which is great. I'm hoping for a rush of entries this week as our earlybird entry prize draw closes off on Friday," Keeping says.

Those that enter online before December 1 will go into an earlybird entry prize draw to win one of three Honda Duster XR125 farm bikes, each valued at $4000. One farm bike will be drawn from early entrants in each contest.

"It is a very practical and useful prize for three of our earlybird entrants"

Entries are being accepted online at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz and close on December 20.

The New Zealand 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 AgITO.

Keeping says a total of 305 entries have been received to date, about the same number as this time last year. "We are tracking along about the same, so we are on target to hit around 500 entries all up."

She says the dairy trainee contest has received the most entries to date, with 141 entries. The farm manager contest has 91 entries and 73 entries have been received in the sharemilker/equity farmer contest.

Entrants first enter one of 12 regional competitions around the country, with the three regional winners each progressing to the national final where they will compete for $140,000 in cash and prizes.

"For the first time all our 2012 national winners came from the same region – Canterbury North Otago – and that may have helped to create added interest in the awards there, as the Canterbury North Otago region has received the most entries so far with 43."

The Waikato region follows in second place with 35 entries across the three contests, and Northland is third with 34 entries, just ahead of Taranaki on 33 entries to date.

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