For Immediate Release

20 September 2013

New Chair for Dairy Awards Trust

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Trust has a new chair, with Mid-Canterbury dairy farmer and DairyNZ Director Alister Body stepping into the role.

Mr Body says a key focus of the Trust under his leadership will be to ensure the awards and its three contests – the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year – retain relevancy and competitor interest.

“The competitions are improving and evolving and that’s really important. They also provide a great showcase of the dairy industry and give tremendous promotion of the value and benefits to be gained by participating in the dairy industry,” he says.

“In a way we are victims of our success in that we have to find ways of dealing with larger numbers of entrants and greater numbers of people wanting to attend the events.

“It’s a competition that is fuelling itself and it will continue to do so, so long as we are doing a good job.”

The six-member Trust also includes Fonterra Director Jim van der Poel, DairyNZ Director and 2008 New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year Ben Allomes, Federated Farmers Dairy Section Chair Willy Leferink, and Federated Farmers Sharemilkers Section representatives Neil Filer and Ciaran Tully, also a former Auckland Hauraki Sharemilker of the Year winner.

“It’s a great Trust and I feel privileged to be its chair.”

Mr Body takes over from Teresa Moore, who won the 2009 New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year.

The Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, RD1, Triplejump, along with industry partner Primary ITO.

Awards organisers, convenors and sponsors meet in Rotorua early next month to finalise preparations for the 2014 awards programme.

Entries will be received online at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz from November 1.

ENDS

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