Tuesday, 29 May 2018 11:55

Got ladder, will climb

Written by 
Simone Smail. Simone Smail.

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.”

More like this

Sharemilkers Credit DairyBase Tool for Staffing Decisions

Signing up to a benchmarking tool is not about competition, but about improving collectively, says Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo who are 50-50 sharemilkers at a 164-hectare (effective) dairy farm in Eketāhuna in the Lower North Island.

Featured

Editorial: Drones Are Not Toys

OPINION: David Seymour and James Meager's plan to make it easier for farmers and orchardists to operate drones can best be described a 'courageous' move.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Domestic Focus

OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…

A No-Brainer

OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter