Dairy Awards Keep On Giving
Whakatane dairy farmers Peter and Jenny Sinclair were pipped at the final post last year for the national Sharemilker of
the Year title.
They were close runners up, but Jenny says they’ve gained a great deal more from their experiences involved in the Dairy
Industry Awards over the past four years than any title could have given them.
“It was great to come so close,” Jenny says. “But for us, the long term benefits we’ve gained from taking part in the
awards have been far greater than we could ever have expected.”
As regional convenors in the Bay of Plenty for the 2008 competition, Jenny and Pete say their ongoing involvement and
voluntary commitment of their time is a reflection of their total belief in the value of the awards programme to the
dairy industry and people’s growth within it.
Entries in three tiers of the awards – Sharemilker, Farm Manager and Dairy Trainee – close on December 20.
A good number of first time entrants have put their names forward for the BOP region, but the Sinclairs hope some of
those who had a go last year will take part again.
“Pete and I entered three years in a row before we won the regional title. When we first entered, we just focused on
telling the judges what we did. From there we learned to analyse our business more closely so we could not only say what
we did, but also why. And finally we were able to say what we did, why we did it and identify areas for improvement.”
The Sinclairs were newcomers to the Bay of Plenty region the first year they entered the awards.
“Taking part in the awards helped us build a new network of personal and business contacts. It raised our profile so
that businesses came to us to offer products and services rather than us having to seek them out. Now, we have offers of
jobs we haven’t even applied for.”
The awards are supported by Westpac, Dairy NZ, Fonterra, RD1, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, Ecolab, Federated
Farmers, and Blue Wing Honda, along with industry partner Agriculture ITO.
For more information about the Dairy Industry Awards or to download an entry form in any of the three categories: www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz
Pete and Jenny Sinclair, still champions for the Dairy Industry Award.
ENDS