The 33 finalists in the 2019 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards didn’t have long to celebrate their respective regional
wins, as they began to prepare for the final round of judging.
The winners will be announced at a black-tie awards dinner at TSB Arena in Wellington on Saturday 11th May.
The finalists represent 11 regions and will compete for prizes worth more than $210,000 and the honour of winning either
the 2019 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year, 2019 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year or the 2019 New Zealand Dairy
Trainee of the year title.
General Manager Chris Keeping says the 33 finalists are the cream of the crop from all the entries received, and it was
a hard-fought battle.
“It was fantastic to attend all 11 regional finals and feel the excitement of the wins and see the journey each finalist
has taken, both professionally and personally,” says Chris.
Chris says there is a mix of gender, age, farming experience and career backgrounds amongst the finalists. “It is very
clear that the New Zealand dairy industry is in good health with passionate farmers, managers and trainees with positive
attitudes leading the way,” she says.
“Previous Dairy Industry Award winners continue to make an impact within the dairy industry and many are clear leaders.”
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra,
Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and Westpac along with industry partners DairyNZ and Primary ITO.
2019 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year finalists:
NorthlandColin and Isabella Beazley, both 31, 50% sharemilkers, 330 cows, Wellsford
Auckland-Hauraki Ethan and Sarah Koch, both 28, 50% sharemilkers, 200 cows, Onewhero
Waikato Marc and Nia Jones, 32 & 29, contract milkers, 970 cows, Tokoroa
Bay of Plenty Matt Barr & Genna Maxwell, both 32, lease farm, 410 cows, Awakeri
Central Plateau Tom Bridgens, 22, contract milker, 300 cows, Tokoroa
Taranaki Leah & Jacob Prankerd, 27 & 26, 50% sharemilkers, 195 cows, Stratford
Manawatu Jemima & Thomas Bebbington, 36 & 33, 50% sharemilkers, 425 cows, Ohakune
Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa Hamish Hammond & Rachel Gardner, 28 & 24, contract milkers, 630 cows Greytown
West Coast-Top of the South Thomas & Hannah Oats, both 27, 50% sharemilkers, 130 cows, Hokitika
Canterbury-North Otago Ruwan Wijayasena, 43, contract milker, 1840 cows, Darfield
Southland-Otago Cameron & Nicola van Dorsten, 33 & 31, 50% sharemilkers, 575 cows, Outram
2019 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year Finalists:
Northland Lorraine Ferreira, 31, farm manager, 400 cows, Whangarei
Auckland-Hauraki Kyle Brennan, 25, farm manager, 950 cows, Mercer
Waikato Joe Kehely, 21, farm manager, 240 cows, Putaruru
Bay of Plenty Janamjot Singh Ghuman, 26, farm manager, 280 cows, Te Puke
Central Plateau Laurence Walden, 40, farm manager, 1040 cows, Taupo
Taranaki Kenneth Harrison, 33, herd manager, 1000 cows, Opunake
Manawatu Renee Howard, 24, farm manager, 340 cows, Palmerston North
Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa Nicholas Verhoek, 33, farm manager, 920 cows, Masterton
West Coast-Top of the South George King, farm manager, 274 cows, Westport
Canterbury-North Otago Matt Redmond, 25, farm manager, 830 cows, Culverden
Southland-Otago James Matheson, 25, farm manager, 700 cows, Gore
2019 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year Finalists:
NorthlandDaniel Waterhouse, 23, farm assistant, 700 cows, Dargaville
Auckland-Hauraki Rebecca Casidy, 24, dairy production manager, 400 cows, Ngatea
Waikato Matt Dawson, 21, 2IC, 620 cows, Hamilton
Bay of Plenty Alex Sainty, 21, assistant manager, 390 cows, Galatea
Central Plateau Harry Phipps, 20, herd manager, 400 cows, Rotorua
Taranaki Marshall Jane, 21, farm assistant/shed manager, 750 cows, Hawera
Manawatu Nick Besinga, 25, 2IC, 1250 cows, Bulls
Hawkes Bay-Wairarapa Matthew McDougall, 22, farm assistant, 530 cows, Dannevirke
West Coast-Top of the South Jeffrey Hawes, 23, farm assistant, 860 cows, Moana
Canterbury-North Otago Nicole Blowey, 25, assistant herd manager, 600 cows, Fairlie
Southland-Otago Caycee Cormack, 25, 2IC, 600 cows, Heriot