SIDE 2025's new schedule, venue
Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.
SIDE 2024 organisers have secured some key speakers for the event. Here are four of the keynote speakers:
Dan Pronk - Inspirational Speaker
After failing dismally in his first career dream of being a professional triathlete, Pronk studied medicine on an army scholarship. After passing the punishing Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) selection course, he then served on over 100 combat missions in Afghanistan as a frontline special operations doctor. His casualties included fellow SAS soldiers, commandos, local civilians, and even the enemy.
The thrill of adventure and the challenges of battlefield medicine gave him a sense of purpose in testing his skills to the limits, but the despair of being helpless to save his friends in their final moments haunted him.
His journey back to a fulfilling life began when he moved into medical leadership roles, using the medical skills honed in Afghanistan to save civilian lives.
Pronk is just a small average guy who pushed himself to perform in complex environments, and will share with you his tales of adventure, resilience, and give you the tools to thrive.
Jeremy Hill - Fonterra
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Jeremy Hill has worked for Fonterra and its predecessor companies for over 30 years, the last 17 as Fonterra’s chief science & technology officer and has held executive leadership roles in science, technology, regulatory and food assurance across the entire farm to consumer value chain.
Hill is an inventor of 20+ patent families covering different aspects of dairy science, technology, health, nutrition, and sustainability, and has published over 100 scientific papers. He has invented or co-invented IP used to create four start-up companies, all still operating.
He is a graduate of the New Zealand Institute of Directors company directors’ course and has held numerous governance positions in the boards of NZ and global organisations including president and chairman of the board of the International Dairy Federation. In 2018 Hill co-established the Sustainable Nutrition Initiative based at the Riddet Institute, Massey University, where he was a director on the Riddet Board 2009-2012. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science and the dairy industry in the 2020 Queens Birthday Honours.
Siobhan O'Malley - Dairy Farmer
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Siobhan O'Malley is a dairy farmer living on the West Coast, near Hokitika at Pukeko Pastures. From an urban family growing up in Christchurch, she and her husband Christopher and their three children sharemilked for 10 years in North Otago, Mid-Canterbury and the West Coast until buying a 180-cow farm in 2022. Christopher and Siobhan won the NZ Sharefarmer of the Year in 2017. Siobhan is the co-founder of farmer charity Meat the Need and co-founder of luxury knitwear e-commerce brand, Hemprino. She works full-time off farm as a secondary school English teacher and strongly dislikes gardening and housework.
Cameron Bagrie - Economist
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Cameron Bagrie is a leading independent economist, with extensive experience in business and agriculture and brings a local and international flavour to his conversations. Bagrie’s ability to take complicated and complex information and data and make it accessible and meaningful for his audience sets him apart. Bagrie also runs two other businesses besides Bagrie Economics and sits on a couple of boards so is a business honed economist.
Join Bagrie as he takes SIDE participants through the issues and opportunities for the dairy sector, provides commentary and analysis on what the present and future holds and how the sector can thrive in these uncertain times.
The Australian goatmeat industry set a new record for production and exports last year.
Canada's blatant manipulation of international trade rules around the export of subsidised dairy products is likely to escalate further with the new Trump administration now in the White House.
Not all stakeholders involved in the proposed merger of honey industry groups - ApiNZ and Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA) combining to form a larger organisation - think the deal is so sweet.
Populations of fall armyworm are two to three weeks more advanced than they have been in previous seasons, bringing calls for maize and sweetcorn growers to scout their crops as often as possible.
While many MPs have been busy taking holidays in maybe exotic places, for Andrew Hoggard it's back to his old job as a dairy farmer during the so-called 'summer break'.
A steep learning curve, a very busy year and thank heavens for tractor therapy. That's how Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard described his first year in Parliament to reporter Peter Burke at his dairy farm in the Manawatu during the holiday break.
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