Tuesday, 18 March 2025 11:25

Dairy awards

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: Results of regional New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) are trickling in but there's a worrying trend emerging.

Two of the first four regional results for the flagship Share Farmer of the Year competition - namely Auckland/Hauraki and Hawke's Bay/Wairarapa - noted that "due to the minimum number of finalists not being reached, entrant scores were benchmarked against the national average with data collated from the 10 other regions".

Taranak and Manawatu attracted enough finalists. Why is this happening?

Hats off though to the NZDIA Trust for introducing two new awards - Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award and the ASB Alumni of the Year Award.

The awards showcase the industry's best, and we know there's no shortage of award-winning young farmers in the industry.

However, we must keep the interest alive in young farmers to participate in the awards.

More like this

It's all about economics

OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.

Red line on dairy

OPINION: As India negotiates to open its borders to more global products, dairy is proving a sticky issue.

Farmland security

OPINION: Paranoia about foreigners is at an all-time high in the US and attention is now turning to foreign-owned farmland.

Cuddling cows

OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.

Featured

People-first philosophy pays off

The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.

Farmer anger over Joy's social media post

A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.

From Nelson to Dairy Research: Amy Toughey’s Journey

Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.

AgFirst marks 30 years of agribusiness advice

AgFirst, New Zealand's largest independent agribusiness consultancy, is turning 30 - celebrating three decades of "trusted advice, practical solutions, and innovative thinking".

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…

Gene Bill rumours

OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter