Opportunities galore
Dairy Trainee of the Year Peter O'Connor is both honoured and surprised with his win.
Organisers are encouraging those dairy farmers who are keen to progress their career in the industry to enter.
National convenor Chris Keeping says the New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year Competition is once again attracting strong interest with over 200 entered so far.
"The popularity of the dairy trainee contest really does demonstrate the huge value entrants gain by having the awards on their CV and the skills and networks they gain from entering.
"As someone has said to me the benefits of participating in the Dairy Industry Awards are a bit like winning Lotto, but unlike Lotto everyone that enters is a winner in one way or another."
So far 71 entries have been received in the sharemilker/equity farmer competition, 123 in the farm manager contest.
“We always struggle to get entries in early in the sharemilker competition. We’ve got a week to go and our regional committees will be working hard to encourage people to put themselves forward and grab some of the opportunities that will come their way by entering,” says Keeping.
“It is fair to say that we have been working harder and harder to get entries in the contest in the past few years. There could be a number of reasons for this and so as an organisation we will obviously have to assess what those reasons are and how they can best be overcome.”
Keeping says a record 572 people entered the awards this year.
"It was a fantastic result and we would certainly like to think we can achieve that again this year. Entering the awards can help participants identify ways to lift farm management and performance, and drive opportunities for career progression and personal development."
Entries are being accepted online at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.
