Rugby years help shape new farmer’s resilience
Who says rugby and dairying don’t mix well? Just ask James Foote, a semi-professional rugby player who switched to dairying four years ago and recently notched up one of the biggest wins of his career.
Judging began this week for the finalists – four men and seven couples.
It involves a two-hour farm visit covering financial planning, human resource and farm management. The final component of the judging, an interview, will take place in Wellington prior to the winners being announced at on May 24.
Winners in the 2013 New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year will also be announced and nearly $150,000 in prizes will be given away.
National convenor Chris Keeping says it is the eleventh year of the farm manager contest, which had also become a dual between contract milkers and farm managers.
The finalists this year include five contract milkers and six farm managers. A contract milker is self-employed and paid on a specific dollar value/kgMS (such as $1/kgMS) to oversee the farm production system. They are responsible for some of the farm expenditure and may also contribute some equipment such as a bike. A farm manager is responsible for the financial and physical performance of the farm, including recruiting and managing any staff.
“One of the great aspects of the dairy industry is that there are a number of ways people can develop their farming skills and knowledge and build their equity to take the next step in their career.”
Keeping says most of the finalists (eight) are aged under 30 years old and one, Bay of Plenty’s representative Chris Mexted, is only in his first full season dairy farming.
The oldest finalist, the West Coast/Top of the South’s Blue Benseman, is 53 years old and is also managing the largest herd (1050). Benseman is one of four finalists who had entered the awards for the first time.
It is the second time five had entered and two finalists are third time entrants, including Auckland Hauraki representative Kylie Cox. Cox has entered the dairy trainee contest twice before but is entering the farm manager contest for the first time with husband Michael, an experienced builder.
