Taranaki Dairy Awards win Boosts Success

Entering the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards has made the 2010 Taranaki Sharemilkers of the Year Greg and Hannah Topless’ sharemilking business more successful.

It was the third time they had entered the competition, saying each time they enter it helps them understand their business and what makes it successful.

“The preparation required forces you to take a long hard look at your operation. As a result you learn more, are more motivated and that spins off into decisions that you make in your business which in turn makes it more successful,” they say.

The Topless’ won $18,000 in cash and prizes when they were announced winners at the Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards gala dinner in the Stratford Memorial Hall last night.

The couple is 50% sharemilking 280 cows on a 96ha farm owned by Mark and Leigh Caskey at Toko. It is their sixth and last season sharemilking, as they have just bought their first farm.

They say they are focused and passionate about what they do. “We know where we are heading and have learnt lots along the way on how to achieve that. We worked hard to get to a position where we could go 50% sharemilking and we aggressively paid back principle on our loan, meaning our equity grew quickly.”

Opunake 50% sharemilkers Kurt and Katie-Rose Parry placed second in the Taranaki Sharemilker of the Year, winning $6700. Third place went to Gary and Sandra Fredrickson, 50% sharemilkers from Manaia. They won $6700, including merit awards.

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

The 2010 Taranaki Farm Manager of the Year title was won by 24-year-old contract milker Marc Jackson. He won $6000 in cash and prizes.

Mr Jackson is managing a 160ha Stratford farm owned by Mark and Shelia Masters, milking 450 cows.

He says a strength of his business is the rapport he has with his farm owner and staff, and he is helping to develop his farm worker from a trainee to potential manager. He aims to continue buying the Masters’ herd to go 50% sharemilking.

Kaponga farm managers Dion Dobson and Koryn Smith placed second in the farm manager competition, winning $4000.

The 2010 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year is Dougan Butler, a 20-year-old farm assistant on a 176ha farm owned by Brian Giddy at Inglewood. Mr Butler won $3100.

It is Mr Butler’s second season in the dairy industry and he entered the awards to promote himself and meet like-minded people. He plans to go sharemilking in 2013 to build equity to his ultimate goal of farm ownership.

Inglewood farm assistant Samuel Humphreys, 26, placed second in the dairy trainee contest, winning $1000, and Opunake farm assistant Ernest Blom placed third, winning $800.

All three winners will now compete for the New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year titles and a prize pool of more than $130,000 in Rotorua on May 15.

Taranaki Sharemilkers of the Year Greg and Hannah Topless will host a field day on March 19, while Taranaki Farm Manager of the Year Marc Jackson will host a field day on the Stratford farm he manages on March 26. Further details on the winners and field days can be found on www.dairyindustryawards.co..nz.

Sharemilker Merit Awards:
Reeves Middleton Young Communication Award – Greg & Hannah Topless
Abacus Group Best Endeavour Award – Chris & Joelene Cox
Variable Order Cup – Warren Patterson & Mary Rawson
DairyNZ Human Resources Award – Gary & Sandra Fredrickson
Ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene Award – Gary & Sandra Fredrickson
Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc) Leadership Award – Greg & Hannah Topless
Honda Farm Safety and Health Award – Gary & Sandra Fredrickson
LIC Recording and Productivity Award – Greg & Hannah Topless
Meridian Energy Farm Environment Award – Greg & Hannah Topless
Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award – Greg & Hannah Topless
Westpac Business Performance Award – Kurt & Katie-Rose Parry

Farm Manager Merit Awards:
Allied Farmers Outstanding Attitude Award – Dion Dobson & Koryn Smith
DairyNZ Human Resource Management Award – Ian Butler
RD1 Farm Management Award – Marc Jackson
Westpac Financial Planning and Management Award – Dion Dobson & Koryn Smith