As each is judged on their farm businesses, that makes 7000 farms that have had their environmental footprint, financial planning, ability to manage staff, health and safety policies, dairy hygiene, pasture management and animal husbandry checked.
The competitors are also judged on their leadership skill, which means there are around 7000 farming leaders out there in your community, helping run schools, farm discussion groups, water zone committees, standing in front of regional councils at annual plan hearings and so forth.
It also means that 7000 have been able to promote themselves for future positions on farms. After the competitions, these competitors find their phones running hot with offers of employment or farms to share milk on, and bankers fall over themselves wanting to lend them money. These farmers have proven themselves to be a good risk in a risky business.
The competitions also involve farm owners who are thrilled they convinced their sharemilkers, farm managers, equity partners and dairy trainees to enter.
Their farms and farm businesses have benefited from the judging process as well. They find they, too, are in demand, with offers to work on the farm, meaning they can have the pick of the best.
After the competitions are over, these people do not sit down and let all go to rack and ruin. They are likely to be the ones on the leading edge of the bell curve of nutrient management, riparian fencing and planting, while also looking after their employees well.
Many have come through the ranks of Federated Farmers, representing their province and their industry.
While the lead-up to the awards' final dinner in May was a week full of adrenaline and the excitement of being with a group of winners just like them, many still remembered the soul searching that went on in November last year when the competition opened. The hard slog leading up to first the regional judging and then the national judging wasn't forgotten either. However, it would be hard to find one person who said that all the work was not worth it in the end. They have all said that their businesses have improved and acknowledged that this would not have happened without the push to succeed in the competitions.
These competitions are hard work, there's no denying it. While it is free to enter, there is a huge cost in terms of time and many entrants get cold feet once they see what's entailed. Luckily there is help at hand from previous entrants and consultants.
Most of the competitors are young and have young families and pregnancies to deal with during the six months they are under the microscope.
They sacrifice family life and that precious summer time as they sit down and get their farm health and safety plans up to date, refine business plans, and get their nutrient management plans working as well as looking after their cows.
Having family and friends around to take care of the children in the busy lead-up to judging is duly recognised. Often they also have to deal with the stress of inclement weather, be it drought or summer cyclones. It's not easy.
The regional convenors have it tough too. They run the competitions across the country, convince people to enter and set up the local awards dinners and field days.
This job is not for the faint-hearted and is generally done by previous winners, with help from the central organisation. Many see the workload ahead of them as the downside of winning in previous years.
There are new skills to learn and another set of timetables to keep to. However, attitude is everything and the thrill of seeing all their work on show at the regional dinners is enough for most people to say: "it's worth it all" and to understand they have learnt the art of event management.
The sponsors and industry partners, of which Federated Farmers is just one of the family of 12 have it slightly easier. Apart from providing the prize pool of $170,000 nationally with regional winners' pool on average of $66,000, our job is to get the 'goodies' for the competitors, banners, and promotional DVDs to the right place, in time.
The fact that we have Chris Keeping, the convenor of all convenors, making sure we do everything means this all happens.
It culminates in a last week of hard work and celebration tinged with the sadness of leaving new friends and then the whole engine starts up again, getting the next year's competition under way.
These competitions have been going for 25 years now. The Sharemilker of the Year competition started off in Taranaki in the 1970s, becoming a national competition in 1990 and the other categories joined up by 2008.
When the call comes in November to enter the competitions, think about the reward as well as the hard work. All the people who have entered over the years will tell you it is all worth it.
For those interested in this year's winners (who isn't!), they are:
-Sharemilker/Equity Partner of the Year: Charlie & Jody McCaig
-New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year: Nick Bertram
-New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year: Ruth Hone
-Federated Farmers Leadership Award: Donald & Kirsten Watson
-For more results visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz
