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.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
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