About 70 people attended in the A&P showgrounds hall, in the town that hosted the first competition in the 1970s. It was the brainchild of now retired dairy farmer Murray Cross, who wanted to create a contest to showcase what sharemilkers could offer prospective employers.
Cross was one of several speakers, along with former Federated Farmers Dairy chair Mark Masters, the first New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year winners Kevin and Diane Goble, 2008 New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year winner and dairy awards trustee Ben Allomes, former chair of the contest’s organising committee Greg Maughan and current chair Gavin Roden.
The sharemilker competition is New Zealand’s longest running dairy farming contest. It aims to give sharemilkers an opportunity to raise their profile and reputation among employers and rural professionals such as bankers.
Maughan says the effect of entering the sharemilker contest can be life changing. “The enthusiastic atmosphere, acknowledgement of achievement and raised awareness of possibilities often has a lasting effect. Success or receiving a merit or place is often quoted in the curriculum vitae of sharemilkers and is valued by lending institutions as a measure of capability.”
Maughan, a former Manawatu/Rangitikei/Horowhenua Sharemilker of the Year, has attended 21 of the 24 national sharemilker awards dinners, including the last 17. Some have nicknamed him ‘Mr Sharemilker of the Year’ given his history and extensive involvement including entering, convening, judging, chairing, being a trustee and most recently dairy trainee study tour leader. He says the camaraderie of the awards is something he values most. “The friends and contacts I have made over the years are priceless.”
Allomes says he recalls the judging when he and his wife Nicky first entered the contest in 2003. “We had a typed story five pages long, a spread sheet and a farm map. It took one hour to present. We still have it in the office. We didn’t even show the cows because they were at the back of the farm.”
They won the first award of the night for best first time entrant. “We went up and got our prize and sat back down. We didn’t realise we had to make a thank-you speech – oops! We were as green as grass, but we were hooked.
“It is unbelievable to think that 10 years ago, new to the industry, we could be doing what we are now. We are products of our dairy industry and the Dairy Industry Awards – our training and experience has all come from an industry that invests in its people, in the present and for the future.”
Allomes, now a DairyNZ director, says the strength of the awards and the regard they are held in is a reflection of the strength of the dairy industry.
“The growth in entries and prestige of the competition shows the relevance and importance people put on the awards to up-skill themselves and promote their business.”
The sharemilker contest is part of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, which also oversees the New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competitions.
Entries in the 2014 awards and 25th New Zealand Sharemilker/Eqity Farmer of the Year competition open on November 1. Further information can be found at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.
