Finalists compete for prestigious Dairy Industry Awards

The 33 finalists in the 2019 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards didn’t have long to celebrate their respective regional wins, as they began to prepare for the final round of judging.

The winners will be announced at a black-tie awards dinner at TSB Arena in Wellington on Saturday 11th May.

The finalists represent 11 regions and will compete for prizes worth more than $210,000 and the honour of winning either the 2019 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year, 2019 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year or the 2019 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the year title.

General Manager Chris Keeping says the 33 finalists are the cream of the crop from all the entries received, and it was a hard-fought battle.

“It was fantastic to attend all 11 regional finals and feel the excitement of the wins and see the journey each finalist has taken, both professionally and personally,” says Chris.

Chris says there is a mix of gender, age, farming experience and career backgrounds amongst the finalists. “It is very clear that the New Zealand dairy industry is in good health with passionate farmers, managers and trainees with positive attitudes leading the way,” she says.

“Previous Dairy Industry Award winners continue to make an impact within the dairy industry and many are clear leaders.”

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and Westpac along with industry partners DairyNZ and Primary ITO.

2019 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year finalists:

Northland Colin and Isabella Beazley, both 31, 50% sharemilkers, 330 cows, Wellsford

Auckland-Hauraki Ethan and Sarah Koch, both 28, 50% sharemilkers, 200 cows, Onewhero

Waikato Marc and Nia Jones, 32 & 29, contract milkers, 970 cows, Tokoroa

Bay of Plenty Matt Barr & Genna Maxwell, both 32, lease farm, 410 cows, Awakeri

Central Plateau Tom Bridgens, 22, contract milker, 300 cows, Tokoroa

Taranaki Leah & Jacob Prankerd, 27 & 26, 50% sharemilkers, 195 cows, Stratford

Manawatu Jemima & Thomas Bebbington, 36 & 33, 50% sharemilkers, 425 cows, Ohakune

Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa Hamish Hammond & Rachel Gardner, 28 & 24, contract milkers, 630 cows Greytown

West Coast-Top of the South Thomas & Hannah Oats, both 27, 50% sharemilkers, 130 cows, Hokitika

Canterbury-North Otago Ruwan Wijayasena, 43, contract milker, 1840 cows, Darfield

Southland-Otago Cameron & Nicola van Dorsten, 33 & 31, 50% sharemilkers, 575 cows, Outram

2019 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year Finalists:

Northland Lorraine Ferreira, 31, farm manager, 400 cows, Whangarei

Auckland-Hauraki Kyle Brennan, 25, farm manager, 950 cows, Mercer

Waikato Joe Kehely, 21, farm manager, 240 cows, Putaruru

Bay of Plenty Janamjot Singh Ghuman, 26, farm manager, 280 cows, Te Puke

Central Plateau Laurence Walden, 40, farm manager, 1040 cows, Taupo

Taranaki Kenneth Harrison, 33, herd manager, 1000 cows, Opunake

Manawatu Renee Howard, 24, farm manager, 340 cows, Palmerston North

Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa Nicholas Verhoek, 33, farm manager, 920 cows, Masterton

West Coast-Top of the South George King, farm manager, 274 cows, Westport

Canterbury-North Otago Matt Redmond, 25, farm manager, 830 cows, Culverden

Southland-Otago James Matheson, 25, farm manager, 700 cows, Gore

2019 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year Finalists:

Northland Daniel Waterhouse, 23, farm assistant, 700 cows, Dargaville

Auckland-Hauraki Rebecca Casidy, 24, dairy production manager, 400 cows, Ngatea

Waikato Matt Dawson, 21, 2IC, 620 cows, Hamilton

Bay of Plenty Alex Sainty, 21, assistant manager, 390 cows, Galatea

Central Plateau Harry Phipps, 20, herd manager, 400 cows, Rotorua

Taranaki Marshall Jane, 21, farm assistant/shed manager, 750 cows, Hawera

Manawatu Nick Besinga, 25, 2IC, 1250 cows, Bulls

Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa Matthew McDougall, 22, farm assistant, 530 cows, Dannevirke

West Coast-Top of the South Jeffrey Hawes, 23, farm assistant, 860 cows, Moana

Canterbury-North Otago Nicole Blowey, 25, assistant herd manager, 600 cows, Fairlie

Southland-Otago Caycee Cormack, 25, 2IC, 600 cows, Heriot

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