Finalists Prepare for Last Round of Judging
22 APRIL 2017
Finalists Prepare for Last Round of Judging
This weekend marks the culmination of months
of planning and preparation for the 22 finalists in the
Share Farmer and Dairy Manager of the Year competitions, as
finals judging gets underway for the 2017 New Zealand Dairy
Industry Awards.
Two teams of three judges will travel the length and breadth of New Zealand over 8 days, spending time on each finalists’ farm and listening to presentations from them.
Beginning in Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa on 22 April, the judges will spend two hours with each Share Farmer of the Year finalist. The finalists will be able to showcase all aspects of their farming business and management styles, as well as off-farm interests.
General Manager Chris Keeping says the national judging covers a huge spectrum of all facets of farming, using the same judging criteria as the regional rounds. “The judges will be able to hear everything about the farming business, and see significant areas of interest, if the finalist chooses to present that,” she says. “It’s really up to the finalists how they choose to utilise their two hours with the judges.”
“On the day prior to the National Awards Dinner, the finalists have an interview with the judging panel which completes their judging process.”
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra Farm Source, Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy and Ravensdown, along with industry partner Primary ITO.
The Dairy Manager of the Year finalists have one and a half hours presentation time with the judges, with judging criteria covering five main topics of everyday farming life: Farm overview, Power Play topic, Personal, Feed and Stock. The finalists will also meet with the judging panel on the day prior to the National Awards dinner.
The winners will be announced at a black tie awards dinner in Auckland on Saturday May 6. More information can be found at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.
ends