Record numbers to attend dairy awards

The response to the dairy industry’s annual night of celebration reflects the current buoyancy in the industry, with a record attendance expected.

 

New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards National Convenor Chris Keeping says 700 people are expected to attend the national awards dinner in Christchurch on Saturday night <May 24>, where winners in the New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year will be announced.

 

“It will be a record number of people attending the dinner, and I’ve got a waiting list of people still wanting tickets.

 

“We have really been overwhelmed by the response this year. I guess the dairy industry is in good spirits with a record milk payout signalled for this current season and strong milk payouts predicted for the next few years.

 

“While the drought has taken the shine off the milk payout a little this year for some, all indicators are the industry is in good heart and will be in good heart for some time to come.

 

“That buoyancy has certainly helped our awards and can only benefit the industry positively,” she says.

 

“A number of our finalists are relatively new to the dairy industry and are extremely happy to talk about the positive attributes, lifestyle benefits and financial opportunities available to people wanting to change careers and join the booming dairy industry.”

 

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

 

The awards aim to deliver an industry-wide, New Zealand-wide award structure that enables someone in the industry to progress through the awards as they progress through the industry.

 

“Winning any one of the awards on offer on Saturday night does fast-track a career and make it easier for those in the industry to take the next step – be that to farm management, sharemilking or farm ownership.

 

“This is far more lucrative to entrants than any of the prize money on offer.”

 

The 36 finalists in the three awards are competing for a total prize pool in excess of $107,000. They have already been winners in one of the 12 regional competitions that have been held throughout New Zealand.

 

The finalists are due to arrive in Christchurch tomorrow <Wednesday> and have two days of activities before the final judging, an interview, is held on Saturday to determine the winners in each award.