Pay cut worth every cent
DANNEVIRKE SHAREMILKERS Mark and Jaime Arnold were named the 2016 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year. They took home $52,000 in cash and prizes at last night's national awards in Wellington.
Three of the 11 finalists in the 2013 New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year competition are past entrants and regional winners in the New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year contest.
Awards national convenor Chris Keeping says it is succeeding in its goal of recognising excellence among farmers as they progress in the dairy industry. “We always envisaged the awards would be used as a mechanism for people to advance their dairy farming career by participating in each stage of the awards programme – from trainee to farm manager and then sharemilker/equity farmer,” Keeping says.
“We thought entering the awards would help them gain in recognition and reputation to take the next step in their dairying career and make them sought after by employers and business partners.”
West Coast/Top of the South finalists Peter and Helen McLaren won the region’s farm manager title in 2008. In 2010 Bay of Plenty finalists Russell and Nadine Meade won the region’s farm manager title and competed against Southland’s Don Moore for national honours.
“While none of them were successful at the national level, the experience will be valuable as they prepare for this year’s finals,” says Keeping.
The 11 finalists in the sharemilker/equity farmer contest also include eight couples, two brothers farming in partnership and two men. It is the second time four of the finalists have competed in the awards, the third time for two finalists and it is the seventh time entering for one. Four finalists are first time entrants.
Keeping says they’re also a young group; just one finalist is over 40 and six are 30 or less. Five are traditional 50% sharemilkers, three hold lower order sharemilking positions, and three are equity managers or equity partners. The herd sizes range from 220 to 1350 cows.
“Add to the mix a range of tertiary and trade qualifications and industry experience, and it’s going to be an interesting challenge for the judges to pick the winner,” she says.
Keeping says other traits noted among finalists are greater emphasis on managing people within their business – the human resource aspect of farming – and having good communication between all stakeholders.
“Having a sustainable farm and farming environmentally friendly has become the new norm among the finalists, just like having sound financial performance systems in place.”
The finals will be in Wellington on May 24. National judging starts in two weeks.
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, RD1 and AgITO.
