Wednesday, 07 August 2024 09:55

Tributes for a top farmer

Written by  Staff Reporters
Jeff Bolstad Jeff Bolstad

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards has acknowledged the tragic passing of Morrinsville farmer Jeff Bolstad.

In a statement, the NZDIA said Bolstad was a true stalwart of the New Zealand dairy industry and was one of the Awards' biggest advocates.

He died in a tragic event while milking cows on his farm. Worksafe is investigating the accident.

His daughter Angela said in a Facebook post that her dad died tragically in the cowshed "milking his precious cows".

"We are all totally broken and cannot yet comprehend this tragedy. People that knew Jeff knew he was so full of life, loved his family, loved people, loved having a chat, loved his dairy farming and he never thought this day would ever come to him. He still had so much to do in life."

The NZDIA sent its sympathies to his wife Annette, his daughters Angela, Debbie, Janice and Alison and all their families.

"A family man and proud dairy farmer, Jeff was instrumental in developing the Awards and had a deep passion and belief in not only the Awards, but the whole dairy industry," the NZDIA says.

"He has dedicated much time and energy to the Awards and was a dedicated volunteer, committee member and judge."

In 2021, Bolstad was the recipient of the inaugural Lifetime Contribution to NZDIA Award, presented at the national gala dinner in Hamilton. During his acceptance speech, he commented that he was very touched by the recognition. In his words, "You get out what you put in".

"Publicly, Jeff preferred to remain in the background and used his strengths in forming strong relationships to guide, encourage and mentor up-and-coming farmers," the NZDIA says.

"A community man, Jeff was also a board trustee and involved in Federated Farmers, community projects and was considered a sounding board and mentor by many. An extremely humble man, Jeff expected no recognition. He was one of a kind and his loss will be felt by many."

More like this

Awards to boost farm ownership goals

Two new Awards have been developed for the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) programme that will help some farmers on their journey to farm ownership.

Accident triggers traffic alert in barns, sheds

WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.

Featured

Aussie farmers get A$8.60/kgMS as opening milk price

Australian dairy farmers supplying Fonterra are getting an opening weighted average milk price of A$8.60/kgMS for the new season or around NZ$9.26/kgMS -  NZ74c less than New Zealand suppliers, based on the current exchange rate.

National

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

Machinery & Products

Shearing legend hooked on CanAm

Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs…

50 years of tractor pull

This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling…

The Wrangler's birthday bash

It's the Wrangler Limited’s 30th birthday and to celebrate the milestone a prototype of the E Series Wrangler - a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Free speech

OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter