CowManager Winners Say Tech Is a "No-Brainer" to Keep
The inaugural winners of the NZ Dairy Awards’ CowManager Experience prize say it will be a no-brainer to keep the technology in their farm business after experiencing the results.
Dairy Trainee of the Year Simone Smail wants to keep climbing the industry ladder.
The 24-year old herd manager says she is excited about the future following her win at the Dairy Industry Awards in Invercargill.
“I’m so excited… I cannot wait to keep climbing the ladder,” she told Dairy News.
Smail says farm ownership is a long-term goal that “may take a while, but it’s certainly a goal”.
She won the dairy trainee title in her third attempt, winning $10,600 in prizes and the DeLaval Communication and Engagement Award.
Smail is herd manager on an Invercargill City Council farm, working for Steve and Tracy Henderson on the 780-cow, 310ha property at Invercargill.
Dairy trainee head judge Chris Withy says Smail presented herself well, was at ease in the environment and gave considered, accurate answers.
“She is an excellent example of someone who hasn’t grown up in a farming environment but has developed an obvious love of the land and the stock she works with.”
“Simone shows that anyone can go dairying and succeed if they work hard.”
Bigger, bolder salads packed with colour, crunch and flavour are making headlines overseas — and the arrival of fresh spring vegetables means New Zealanders can now get chopping too, creating their own Great Kiwi Spring Salad.
Chinese beef trade quotas and a looming suspension of Brazilian beef imports into the European Union are expected to reshape global beef trade flows over the remainder of 2026, with implications for New Zealand exporters, according to Rabobank's Q3 Global Beef Quarterly report.
James Blair, an agronomist for AS Wilcox and the Pukekohe regional champion, has won the 2026 Young Grower national title.
An Auckland gelato shop and an established New Zealand ice cream maker have both been named Supreme Champions at the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards 2026.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
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