Entries open for 2026 NZ Dairy Industry Awards
Entries are open for the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA).
Changes have been announced to the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards programme.
The Dairy Trainee category has undergone major changes - the age range is now 18 years to 30 years - with a maximum of three years' experience from the age of 18.
The online entry form has also been simplified.
Additional conditions for visa entrants have been removed with no minimum length of time in New Zealand required.
The modifications to the Dairy Trainee age range recognises that traditional pathways into the dairy industry have altered.
"According to Primary ITO, the average age of a dairy trainee is now 32 years and we are seeing many career changers joining the ranks," says NZDIA general manager Robin Congdon.
"These changes acknowledge the awards programme as a learning platform which recognises trainees' achievements, drives personal development, allows them to grow industry networks, and use the programe to develop skilles along the way."
NZDIA executive dairy trainee member Raewyn Hills says there was a strong desire to enhance the judging to be more educational, fun and engaging.
"We have revamped the process and the preliminary round will have a Skills Day with a practical focus, which will appeal to all," she says.
"We will also give on-the-spot feedback and training on how to complete the practical tasks on the day meaning entrants will come away having leant something rather than just judged."
The new format will also allow more trainees to go through the programme in less time, which means less pressure on volunteer regional teams and judges.
The preliminary round of practical judging will produce six Dairy Trainee finalists from each region, who will progress to a face-to-face interview round, which also include a large verbal practical element to assess general farming knowledge.
"This is invaluable experience for the trainees and develops their communication and interview skills," says Hills.
Regional winners will continue to the national programme, which includes a study tour, practical testing, and the National Awards dinner.
"There is a real buzz about the changes," she says. "We feel they will reinvigorate an already fun experience and our regional teams and judges are excited to get the 2022 programme underway."
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda, LIC, Meridian Energy and Ravensdown, along with industry partner DairyNZ.
Registrations of Interest for the 2022 awards can be made via: www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz with entries opening on October 1.
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through a new initiative designed to make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking easier.
OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.
OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.
OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.