Judging kicks off

National convenor Chris Keeping says the judges will start the process to determine the 2013 New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year winners.

All entrants participate in the judging process that will select the 34 regional winners in the 12 regional competitions.

"Entrants had been invited to attend information evenings during the past couple of weeks to give them a bit of an idea of what to expect when judges visit on their farms – in the case of sharemilker/equity farmer and farm manager entrants – and what is expected of them," Keeping says.

"Essentially they have two hours to present them and their farm business to the judges. They need to have a plan and they definitely don't want any distractions during that time."

Keeping says many past entrants say the judging process is the most valuable aspect of entering the dairy awards, as they learn about the strengths and weaknesses of their business and gain constructive feedback from the judges. The judges are all volunteers and include rural bankers and professionals, farm advisors and farm owners.

"Other business owners would probably pay large sums of money to have their business scrutinised for where they can make improvements and how those improvements can be made. It's one reason some entrants enter the awards multiple times."

She says the first regional winners will be known on March 2, when the Northland Dairy Industry Awards holds its awards evening. Entrants in the West Coast Top of the South region have the longest wait, with the winners in that region announced on April 11.

All regional winners will then progress to the national finals of the 2013 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards being held in Wellington on May 24. They will compete for the national titles and a prize pool of $140,000.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner AgITO.

Visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz for more information on the dairy awards, including the schedule of regional awards dinners.