Rewarding farmers who embrace sustainability
Winners of DairyNZ’s Sustainability and Stewardship awards in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have their eyes firmly fixed on progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy.
Dairy Womens Network will hold its annual meeting this week with the theme celebrating success and reward for hard work.
Chief executive Zelda de Villiers says there is plenty to celebrate: higher membership and event numbers, new commercial partners, financial stability and innovative ways of working.
"Looking back at the last 12 months, we have achieved a lot," she says. "It has been a year of growth and change and developing pilots -- in particular with the modified Dairy Modules in place of Dairy Days." The modules have drawn bigger numbers, she says.
"DairyNZ was instrumental in the development and funding of the module concept and we are grateful for their ongoing support."
Some 991 people attended the Dairy Modules in the last financial year, half of them non-DWN members. Membership rose from 5000 to 8100 in that time, and event numbers from 134 to 214.
"We... are committed to offering and facilitating quality connections for our members that make positive differences to their personal lives and businesses," says de Villiers.
"An organisation that connects like-minded, successful people is necessary at the best of times and crucial in the current climate.
"With our commercial partners we have been able to offer a wide range of opportunities for our members to connect, learn and upskill in the business of dairying."
The network signed up commercial partners LIC, Whatever Marketing and FMG during the 2014-2015 financial year. MSD Animal Health and Farmsource increased their support, and "a very generous donation" came from gold partner ASB.
The network has re-established inactive regional groups, recruited new regional convenors and increased the regional group count from 26 to 33.
"We have developed and centralised our database so we have a much better understanding of the demographic and profile of our members.
"Justine Kidd also signed on as our board chair.... She is doing a wonderful job, as are the rest of our dynamic team."
The network held a conference in Invercargill in March, with trade stands and "inspiring" key speakers.
de Villiers says the network is stable financially, its first audit showing it to be on track to keep growing its balance sheet year on year.
Its next conference will be in Hamilton in May, themed 'United to succeed'.
"And upcoming modules 'Taking care of your cash' and 'Step up to safety' are relevant to the climate."
The network has set up a group at Lincoln University for young women entering farming.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
OPINION: Canterbury milk processor Synlait is showing no sign of bouncing back from its financial doldrums.
OPINION: It seems every bugger in this country can get an award these days.