Northland Dairy Industry Award Winners Deeply Connected To Land

15TH MARCH 2025

The 2025 Northland Share Farmers of the Year say no two days are ever the same, making the workdays enjoyable and rewarding.

Jesse and Sharon Bagley were named winners of the 2025 Northland Share Farmer of the Year at the region’s annual awards dinner held at Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands in Waitangi on Saturday night. The other major winners were Courtney West, the 2025 Northland Dairy Manager of the Year, with Saffrin Sutcliffe named the region’s Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Due to the minimum number of finalists not being reached, Northland Share Farmer entrants scores were benchmarked against the national average, with data collated from the 10 other regions.

This also means merit awards are awarded if the entrant achieved at the right level.

Jesse and Sharon are first-time entrants who were both born and bred on dairy farms and began their careers in the industry at 15 years old.

“Sharon began as a full-time milk harvester and I was a farm assistant,“ says Jesse.

“We are proud we’ve worked our way up to be contract milkers and 50/50 equity partners.“

The couple work on the Te Rarawa Farming Ltd 330ha Kaitaia property, milking 1150 cows. They won $5,495 in prizes and three merit awards.

The Bagleys would like to see steady milk prices and an improvement in water consumption.

The couple identify low staff numbers, terrible winters and “days where everything you touch breaks” as challenges they have worked through.

“You just have to remember that it all gets easier at some point,” says Sharon. “Just take one day at a time.”

Jesse and Sharon identify their farming general knowledge as a strength, along with the ability to keep costs down by being able fix machinery through DIY and kiwi ingenuity.

Future farming goals include farm ownership in the near future.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors ASB, CowManager, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda, LIC, and Trelleborg, along with industry partners DairyNZ and MediaWorks.

Runners-up in the Northland Share Farmer of the Year category were Zarnie Fergusson and William Richards who are 50/50 sharemilking on Keith Willis’ 124ha farm at Kaukapakapa, milking 290 cows.

They won $1,595 in prizes and three merit awards.

The first-time entrants believe that the future dairy farmer needs to be a conscientious farmer, focusing on positive outcomes not just in production but in sustainability, all while prioritizing animal welfare.

“Every day we are working for growth – growth of the business, of the herd, of the grass,” say the couple. “There’s no better way to see the impact you’re achieving than to be out there every day, taking in the tiny changes which add up to so much more.”

The 2025 Northland Dairy Manager of the Year is Courtney West, who won $4,198 and five merit awards.

She was runner-up in the same category last year and placed third in the Manawatū Dairy Trainee category in 2023.

The 26-year-old is farm manager on Greg Partington and Nicola Murray’s 147ha, 350-cow Tomarata farm. She placed third in the 2023 Manawatū Dairy Trainee category.

Courtney holds a Diploma in Adventure Tourism Management and has completed PrimaryITO courses in milk harvesting, livestock husbandry and pastoral livestock production.

“Until 2020, I worked in Queenstown in zipline, jetboating and skydiving companies,” she says. “I needed a career change when covid destroyed the tourism industry and I haven’t looked back.”

Future farming goals include continuing to gain more knowledge and skills in her current role with plans for future study to become a dairy cow nutritionist.

Runner-up in the Northland Dairy Manager category was Michaela McCracken who won $1,298 in prizes and one merit award.

The 25-year-old is farm manager for Greg and Ingrid McCracken on their 175ha Wellsford property, milking 375 cows. She was runner-up in the 2024 Northland dairy trainee category.

Michaela is passionate about breeding and aims to carry on her family’s breeding genetics, as a third-generation farmer on the property.

She is interested in the new technology and innovation in the industry. “It will make our jobs more efficient and productive.”

23-year-old Aidan Clark placed third and won $1,255. He works on Scott Parker and Anna Mahy’s 90ha Kaiwaka farm, milking 233 cows.

The Northland Dairy Trainee of the Year is Saffrin Sutcliffe who is farm assistant on Harry de Jong’s 320-cow, 185ha property at Waiotira. She won $4,705 in prizes and one merit award.

“I just love farming, and I want to go far in the industry,” she says. “I always want to always ask ‘why’.”

Saffrin acknowledges her dyslexia as a challenge but is proud it has not stopped her from completing PrimaryITO courses.

“I’m gaining confidence, and in four years I want to be confidently managing and saving to be a contract milker.”

The 19-year-old cites receiving the Emerging Talent merit award last year as one of her biggest successes.

“Even on the hard days I don’t want to be doing anything else.”

Runner-up in the Northland Dairy Trainee category was Amelia Mitchell who is farm assistant on Fonterra’s 474ha, 250-cow Hikurangi property. She won $1,252 in prizes and one merit award.

Third placegetter in the Dairy Trainee category was Holly Cook, a farm assistant on Luke Oud’s 190ha Ruawai property, milking 450 cows. She won $1,250 in prizes.

The Northland Dairy Industry Awards field day will be held at 10.00am on 26th March 2025 at 827 A Sandhills Rd Kaitaia S/N Fonterra 10176, where Northland Share Farmers of the Year Jesse and Sharon Bagley contract milk. Also presenting at the field day will be the region’s Dairy Manager of the Year, Courtney West and the Dairy Trainee of the Year Saffrin Sutcliffe. Further details on the winners and the field day can be found at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.

Share Farmer Merit Awards:

• DairyNZ – People and Culture Award Zarnie Fergusson and William Richards
• Federated Farmers Leadership Award Zarnie Fergusson and William Richards
• Honda Farm Safety, Health and Biosecurity Award Jesse and Sharon Bagley
• LIC – Animal Wellbeing, Recording and Productivity Award Zarnie Fergusson and William Richards
• Trelleborg Sustainable Pasture Award Jesse and Sharon Bagley
• ASB Business Performance Award Jesse and Sharon Bagley

Dairy Manager Merit Awards

• CowManager Livestock Management Award Courtney West
• Fonterra Dairy Management Award Courtney West
• DeLaval Pasture and Feed Management Award Courtney West
• RTA Contracting Environmental Sustainability Award Courtney West
• Dairy Training Ltd People and Leadership Award Michaela McCracken
• Webb Ross McNab Kilpatrick Personal Planning & Financial Management Award Courtney West
• Northland DIA Committee Emerging Talent Award Sarah Thorne

Dairy Trainee Merit Awards:

• DairyNZ Practical Skills Award Emma Watts
• Northland DIA Committee Emerging Talent Award Rico McLean
• Piako Tractors Northland (Bryant Tractors 1983 Ltd) Farming Knowledge Award Saffrin Sutcliffe

Northern Wairoa Vet Club Association Ltd Communication & Industry Involvement Award Amelia Mitchell

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