At close off, the final entry total for Sharemilker of the Year was 154 and 110 for Farm Manager of the Year.

“Clearly the concept of having representatives at all levels progressing through the dairy industry under one umbrella has great appeal,” says Alison Watters, chairperson of the Dairy Industry Awards management committee.

“We’re especially pleased there are Farm Manager of the Year entries from all 12 regions. There will be Farm Manager of the Year presentations at nine awards evenings with the winning entrant from the Lower North Island (Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Taranaki regions) announced at the awards evening in Hawkes Bay.

“We’re delighted with the result,” Alison says. “We’re looking forward to some very exciting regional events leading up to the national final in Invercargill in May. People hoping to be part of the event should be thinking about booking flights and accommodation now.”

Judging will begin shortly in the 12 regions – a big voluntary commitment by hundreds of people throughout the country who recognise the importance of the awards programme and enjoy being involved,

“It’s hard to comprehend the enormous amount of hard work that goes into a national event of this kind. Our regional convenors and their committees put hundreds of hours into ensuring the smooth-running and professionalism of the awards.”

Sponsors too - Westpac, Dairy InSight, Fonterra, RD1, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, Federated Farmers, Ecolab, Honda and ACC, along with industry partner Dexcel – are involved on many different levels from playing integral roles on management committees, assisting with judging, financial reports, field days and awards evenings.

“The sponsors are as much a part of the working team as everyone else; another reason for the awards’ strength,” Alison says.

Times lines for all the regional awards are posted on the Dairy Industry Awards website: www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz including judging, awards dinners and field days.

TheCattleSite News Desk