Opportunities galore
Dairy Trainee of the Year Peter O'Connor is both honoured and surprised with his win.
The 2015 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, James Davidson, is passionate about the dairy industry and has identified a career pathway within it.
“We warmed to his presentation and he was very confident in himself,” category head judge Nikki Halford, a Hawkes Bay farmer, says.
“The video James prepared for judging was fantastic and illustrated the variety of knowledge and skills required to manage a dairy farm. It showed his passion for dairying and the variety it offers.”
Davidson (26) won $19,500 in prizes. He working on a Darfield, Canterbury, farm owned by Warren and Annemieke Thomas, milking 1400 cows. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Farm Management and plans to go contract milking.
Second place in the dairy trainee contest went to Central Plateau representative Gerard van der Mark, who won $3500 in prizes. Halford says he is ready for farm management. “Gerard presents as someone who is already not at dairy trainee level, as he is thinking about managing his team and farm costs.”
Waikato’s Brett Steeghs won third in the contest, winning $2500 in prizes. Steeghs is just finishing his first season in the industry and has secured a 50% sharemilking position with his partner – and last year’s New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, Ruth Hone – for next season.
A technical lab manager for Apata, Phoebe Scherer, has won the Bay of Plenty 2025 Young Grower regional title.
Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.
OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.