Awards Chair Meets Ag Minister in Stormy South

Awards Chair Meets Ag Minister in Stormy South

New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Chair Matthew Richards met Agriculture Minister Hon David Carter yesterday to show him the chilling affects from the storm that has battered the region for the past week.

Mr Richards, who farms at Edendale in Southland, says the storm has been long, nasty and damaging. He says it will have a lasting effect on the province’s economy.

He says the storm was the most severe and prolonged that he had experienced and it was affecting farmer morale, as well as impacting on milk production and causing stock losses (particularly in the sheep industry).

“It was a real morale booster to have the Minister visit and recognise the grim reality we have faced in the past week. To know the Government is going to offer some support to farmers down here is good news and does help flagging morales.

“The storm is now hopefully over and today we can switch from survival mode to planning our way out. Our farms are almost like bogged swamps,” Mr Richards says.

“I went to the Southland Stags game last night too and think it was great for Southland spirits that we held onto the Ranfurly Shield in what was a nail-biting match.”

Mr Richards says in times like this he is pleased to be part of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

He and wife Vanessa won the Southland Sharemilker of the Year title in 2003 and he has been involved in the awards ever since. Now chairing the management committee, he says a huge benefit of the awards is its ability to create strong networks between participants and finalists from throughout the country.

“You can get pretty down when you’re having a rough time like right now, so it is especially great to be able to ring someone up in another province and talk to them about stuff. It’s great to share experiences, get some support and possibly some good ideas to help improve the situation.

“If nothing else you can share a joke and have a laugh.”

The 2011 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards will be officially launched on Monday October 4, and entries will be accepted from November 1.

The awards are sponsored by Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner Agriculture ITO.

Visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz for more information.

ENDS

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