NZ Confirmed as World's Largest Single-Country Dairy Exporter in 2026 Report
A team effort that is paying dividends for the wider New Zealand economy.
She was one of several people recognised for outstanding contributions to the primary sector.
“I was just doing my job,” she told Rural News in response. “It’s very humbling and I’m not sure it’s entirely deserved.”
Hay says when she saw the unusual and distressing symptoms in the farm’s cows and calves she talked to colleagues, trying to brainstorm ideas and see the signs that would lead to an unusual diagnosis.
“I was encouraged by Associate Professor Richard Laven at Massey University that we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of an exotic disease,” she said.
Hay’s nominator for the award said they’d always found rural vets willing to go the extra mile, but says her actions had given that a whole new meaning.
“She didn’t have to do what she did, but the country is better for it. Dr Hay has saved the New Zealand primary sector millions of dollars and potentially enabled our country to achieve what no other country has -- to rid itself of this disease.”
