Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year, John Wyatt. Photo / Supplied
Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year, John Wyatt. Photo / Supplied
The 2021 Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year is no stranger to the programme, having won both the Farm Manager and Dairy Trainee categories in different regions previously.
John Wyatt won the 2009 Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa Dairy Trainee of the Year category and was named the 2015 Manawatu Farm Manager of the Year.
He completed the category trifecta on Saturday night, by winning the 2021 Taranaki Share Farmer of the Year.
"Entering the Awards has increased my job and networking opportunities and has made me think about why I do what I do," Wyatt said.
Diego Raul Gomez Salinas was named the 2021 Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year and Sydney Porter the 2021 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year.
Wyatt has been farming for 14 years, and spent the past four years contract milking for Mike Hammond on his 106ha, 315-cow Auroa property. He won $8,550 and three merit awards.
He acknowledged his first season on the farm was challenging with a wet spring followed by a drought, leading to the cows being dried off on March 1.
Wyatt was proud of setting the farm record for production on three different farms and said attention to detail and a focus on profit not production were strengths of his business.
Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards winners Sydney Porter, John Wyatt and Diego Gomez. Photo / Supplied
"My wife Kristina and I work really well as a team," he said
"I enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, and want to set a good example and create a future for my family."
Technology development in agriculture was something Wyatt found very exciting.
"It's already starting to have a big influence on what is possible on-farm," he said.
Wyatt's future farming goals included 50/50 sharemilking next season, which would lead to buying land in five years.
"I would like to see the New Zealand dairy industry continue to be perceived in a more positive light by the public and valued as the world leaders in sustainable farming that we are."
There were opportunities to increase the appeal of dairy farming as a career "through being more creative around rosters and hours worked," Wyatt said.
Runner-up in the Taranaki Share Farmer of the Year category were Kelsey and Josh Thompson who won $3,400 in prizes and three merit awards.
It was the second time the Espin's had entered the Awards.
The Stratford 50/50 Sharemilkers work on John and Sheree Espin's 69.7ha property, milking 170 cows.
Entering the Awards had enabled the Thompsons to create budgets and plans, which they used to help build a strong business.
Kelsey holds a Bachelor in Agriscience from Massey University and worked in pasture management, before moving home to farm with Josh, who previously worked as a diesel mechanic for Fonterra.
"Josh and I work very well together and we both have the same goals," she said.
"We are a great team and I think this is a huge asset to the business."
They started the business with Josh working off-farm which meant they were able to live off his wage and reinvest the farm's income back into the farm, Kelsey said.
"This allowed us to progress quicker and to make significant debt repayments over the last four seasons."
The Thompsons were proud they had continuously reduced their SCC, and were in the top 2 per cent for the lowest SCC for Fonterra for last season.
Looking ahead to the future, the couple were excited about the new science and technology that is becoming available in the industry.
"We are young farmers and have a lot of years farming ahead of us to keep pushing boundaries and learning about environmental impacts," Josh said.
The couple's ultimate goal was farm ownership, and along the way they wanted to run a sustainable business.
"Ultimately we want to protect our environment and animals."
Third placegetters in the Share Farmer category were Sophie Parker and Matthew Thomas who are 50/50 sharemilkers on Norton and Coral Moller's 84ha Oakura property, milking 260 cows. They won $3,300 in prizes and one merit award.
Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards - Dairy Manager of the Year, Diego Gomez. Photo / Supplied
Winner of the 2021 Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year category was Diego Gomez. He won $5,800 in prizes and three merit awards. Diego placed third in the same category in 2020.
Diego is Farm Manager for the Michael D Burr Trust 142ha property, milking 380 cows at Stratford.
Diego began his career as an agribusiness professional in Argentina, where he was a professor and researcher in an Argentinian University.
He came to New Zealand in 2009 to learn about dairy farming and believed Kiwi dairy farms were excellent role models for other countries.
"The dairy industry is very complex where you find yourself involved in different and challenging scenarios year after year," Gomez said.
"The capacity of the industry in New Zealand allows everyone who wants to be part of it to be involved and grow."
Gomez enjoyed spending time with this wife and two children. He said he felt successful as a farm manager "as it's hard to fit and feel that you belong when you come from overseas."
"Being granted a high level of responsibility is a huge privilege and proof that resilience and hard work pays off. I aim to achieve my farm production goals every year."
Diego's future farming goals were sharemilking and farm ownership.
The winner of the 2021 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year category didn't know she wanted to be a dairy farming until she began helping her older brother.
"There was something about being outside and being surrounded by cows which captured my heart."
Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards - Dairy Trainee of the Year, Sydney Porter. Photo / Supplied
Sydney Porter entered the Awards once previously and said putting herself out there was a personal achievement.
"I've gained friendships and so much more farm knowledge."
Porter is a Farm Assistant on Phil and Tanya Nixon's 110ha, 320-cow farm in Hawera. She won $5,200 in prizes and two merit awards.
Working outside and variety in her days appealed to Sydney who said she loved a challenge.
"I love that no day is the same – you can be a milker one day, a vet nurse the next, a mechanic one hour and a fence the next."
"I'm excited to see dairy farmers and the dairy industry receive the thanks we deserve in the future. I wouldn't want to change anything about the industry itself, more how people perceive it," she said.
Managing depression in a physically demanding position had been a challenge, Porter said.
"Dairy farming and depression go together like tomato sauce on ice-cream."
"I'm proud to still be here today without giving up, the light at the end of the tunnel really shone through and I'm lucky to have supportive bosses whose priority was making sure I was okay."
Looking ahead to the future, Porter wanted to be involved in the dairy industry in some capacity.
"I'm not 100 per cent on my plans, I just know I want to do as many qualifications and study as possible to keep my options open."
Farm Assistant Logan Stevenson placed second in the Dairy Trainee category, and won $1,250 in prizes and one merit award.
Stevenson works on Shane Stevenson, Mark Bridges and Graham Mourie's 195ha Opunake property milking 515 cows.
A former heavy machinery operator in civil engineering, Logan enjoyed the results from hard work and dealing with animals at different stages of their lives.
Ngaiana Miller was third placegetter and is Trainee Herd Assistant on Stephen and Deborah Clough's 430-cow, 157ha Eltham farm. She won $1,250 in prizes and one merit award.
The Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards field day will be held at 10.00am on April 15, 2021 at 939 Auroa Road, Hawera, S/N 41568 where Taranaki Share Farmer of the Year, John Wyatt contract milks.
Also presenting at the field day will be the region's Dairy Manager of the Year, Diego Gomez and the Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year, Sydney Porter.
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and Westpac along with industry partner DairyNZ.
