Hawke's Bay Dairy Industry Awards highlight of farming calendar

Hawke's Bay Dairy Industry Awards are set to return in a few weeks.

One of the highlights of the dairy industry calendar — the Dairy Industry Awards for the Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa region — will be held in Masterton in two weeks' time.

The winners will be announced at an Awards Dinner at Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park on Thursday 1st March, with categories for Share Farmer of the Year, Dairy Manager of the Year, and Dairy Trainee of the Year.

The three winners go on to compete at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards with winners announced in Invercargill on Saturday May 12.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards attract farmers from across the country, working in all levels of the dairy industry. The three competitions give entrants the chance to challenge themselves, earn a regional or national title and to share in substantial regional and national prize pools.

New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards General Manager Chris Keeping says entering one of the competitions remains one of the best ways people can raise their profile and reputation, as well as learn more about the industry to progress their career.

"The overwhelmingly positive feedback we receive from entrants is how much they learnt during the process and how glad they are they entered," she says.

"Entrants tell us that they really had to sit down and look at their business and how they were doing things on the farm and why. Entering the Awards really is a learning journey — about the industry, about your business and about you as a farmer," says Chris.

The three competitions in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are:

The Share Farmer of the Year — open to all self-employed farmers largely responsible for the day-to-day running of the farm, such as sharemilkers, contract milkers, leasees and equity farm managers.

The Dairy Manager of the Year competition — open to all salaried farm workers, including farm assistants, assistant farm managers, 2IC's, operations managers, farm managers, herd managers, production managers and others.

The Dairy Trainee of the Year contest is open to those aged between 18 to 25 years who have not completed an NZQA Level 5 or above in any field of study, with no more than three years full-time experience on a dairy farm.

A Regional Winners Field Day will be held on Wednesday March 21 at a venue yet to be announced.

To buy tickets for the Hawke's Bay/Wairarapa Awards Dinner and for more information on the awards visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz