Friday, 08 June 2012 10:03

Dairy winners at fieldays

Written by 

The three winners of the 2012 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are attending the National Agricultural Fieldays to promote the awards programme, meet with sponsors and find new ideas and technologies to assist their businesses.

New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year, Enda and Sarah Hawe, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year, Mick O'Connor, and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, Nathan Christian, will attend the Fieldays near Hamilton next week.

It will be the first time at Fieldays for the Hawes and O'Connor, while Christian is originally from Hamilton and has attended previously. All three are currently farming in Canterbury.

"I'm really looking forward to it. I like meeting people and we have a pretty full programme of activities lined up," Hawe says. "I've been to the A&P show and the National Ploughing Champs in Ireland so I'm expecting the Fieldays will be pretty high octane stuff."

He says winning the award had created a lot of interest, including from his homeland, Ireland. Three Irish newspapers as well as radio breakfast and farming shows had interviewed him.

"I am very conscious about where I come from and that the success is important for my parents too. I have come a long way from a little dairy farm in Ireland."

The Hawes are now 50% sharemilking 650 cows in Canterbury.

National convenor Chris Keeping says it has become a tradition for the winners to attend Fieldays.

"They really enjoy the chance to get together and share experiences since their win, and meet with sponsors and industry representatives. Over time they will recognise the experiences they gain and people they meet from their awards win can present unique opportunities and change for them," Keeping says.

The Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner AgITO.

More like this

Helping our youth to be resilient

OPINION: The Rural Support Trust ran a dinner and debate at the National Fieldays last month. In tables of 10, over 540 people were wined and dined, including the Prime Minister, supported by ministers from around the country.

Editorial: Agri's mojo is back

OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.

Sticky situation

OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.

Featured

'One more push' to eliminate FE

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.

Winston Peters questions Fonterra divestment plan

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Quid prod quo?

OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…

Deadwood

OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter