Otago Dairy Industry Awards

SRICTLY EMBARGOED TO FRIDAY 30 MARCH 2007

Kaitangata Sharemilkers Take Top Dairy Award

Kaitangata sharemilkers Mark Watt and Kylie May were named Otago Sharemilker of the Year and an awards presentation in Balclutha tonight.

Nigel Smell and Joanne Ede from Owaka were named Otago Farm Manager of the Year.

Mark and Kylie and Nigel and Joanne will now go forward to represent Southland in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Sharemilker of the Year and Farm Manager of the Year national final to be held in Invercargill on May 12, competing for a combined national prize pool of more than $100,000.

Mark and Kylie are 50/50 sharemilkers, milking 496 cows on 155eff ha owned by Lindsay and Dorothy Watt, with anticipated production of 214,000kg/ms for year ended May 31.

Mark has four-and-half years as a 50/50 sharemilker and takes pride in the high quality of his milk – it had the lowest SCC (Somatic Cell Count) for the entire Otago region last season.

Mark is hoping to involve Kylie, currently an early child care educator, more integrally into the dairy business. In return he plays Santa at the children’s Christmas parties.

Nigel Snell and Joanne Ede are milking 614 cows on 330 eff ha owned by Alvin Reid. Anticipated production to May 31 is 205,000kg/ms

Nigel and Joanne are popular with their staff and have in place good systems that staff enjoy and relate to, with sleep ins and time off and good rosters, rotation of jobs and learning and development a key.

A field day will be held on Nigel and Joanne’s farm, Supply No 38500 Owaka Valley Road RD2 Owaka on April 24 at 10.30am. A field day will be held on Mark and Kylie’s farm located at Supply No 38150 Lawson Road RD1 Kaitangata on April 18 and 10.30am.

Runners up in the Otago Sharemilker of the Year were Stephen and Rene Pellett from Balclutha. Third place went to Nigel and Racheal Patterson from Kaitangata.

Other results included

Farm Manager of the Year Merit Awards
Dairy InSight Human Resource Management Award Nigel Snell and Joanne Ede
RD1 Farm Management Award Nigel Snell and Joanne Ede

Westpac Farm Financial Management Award John Williams
Sharemilker of the Year Merit Awards

ACC Workplace Safety Discounts Award Mark Watt and Kylie May
Blue Wing Honda ATV Safety Award Hamish and Jody Jenkins
Dairy InSight First Time entrant Award Stephen and Rene Pellett
Ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene Award James and Helen Hartshorne
Federated Farmers Leadership Award Stephen and Rene Pellett
LIC Recording and Productivity Award Nigel and Racheal Patterson
Meridian Energy Farm Environment Award Paul and Joanne Barton
Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award James and Helen Hartshorne
Westpac Business Performance Award Stephen and Rene Pellett

Ends

© Scoop Media