Benefits of entering Dairy Industry Awards numerous

Entries for the 2020 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards open on Tuesday 1st October and are an opportunity for entrants to secure their future while learning and connecting with others and growing their career. The 2019 Share Farmers of the Year say the benefits to their career and business from entering are worth the effort and time.

Colin and Isabella Beazley won the 2019 Northland Share Farmers of the Year and went on to win the National title as well. “We entered to benchmark ourselves against the best and also for the networking opportunities,” they say. “The networking and contact with industry leaders is unparalleled and we have used these relationships to grow our business.”

Their advice to potential entrants is to remember ‘evidence is key’. “If you can’t prove it to the judges, they simply cannot mark it, so keeping good records is paramount,” advises Isabella. “Sorting through and collating everything that farmers do on a daily basis can take time, so start now if you’re thinking of entering!”

“As a busy farmer you can get caught up in the day-to-day running of the farm, so to stand back and watch our presentation, visually seeing the 9x ply wood boards plastered with our collated evidences and setting up our machinery for display and effect was quite eye-opening for us,” says Colin. “It made us super proud of how far our industry has allowed us to grow and excited for the prospects of where it can take us.”

The Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DeLaval, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles, LIC, Meridian Energy, and Ravensdown along with industry partners DairyNZ and Primary ITO.

“We are so thankful to the all the sponsors, all the prizes we received were fantastic. The LIC prize was fantastic and timely as we had just done one half of our herd for DNA profiling, so this prize went a long way in helping pay that off,” say the Beazleys.

“The Meridian Energy prize was another great value prize – having just expanded our herd this season by another 200 cows we knew our energy usage was predicted to rise so this voucher continues to help and aids us in future growth.”

Colin and Isabella are active on social media and feel it is important for their family, friends and local community to keep up-to-date with what is happening on their farm. “Social media is huge given how our industry has been portrayed in recent times, and our little page quickly grew into something to promote our industry in a positive light,” say the couple.

This year the Beazleys are involved with the Northland regional committee as regional managers and are enjoying being able to encourage the next wave of entrants coming through. “We 110% recommend entering the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards,” they say.

“First; the industry networking is invaluable. Second; the judges are industry experts and the constructive feedback that you’ll receive is a great way to grow your business and career in the dairy industry.”

“Last but not least is time off-farm. Being able to flick off the cow poo clothes and don some suave suits and flash heels to enjoy some time with others within our industry ‘who get what it’s like to be a farmer too’ is also just as rewarding as the event itself.”

“If you’re striving for more in our industry definitely sign up and see where the Awards journey takes you.”

To find out more about the Awards or to register to enter Share Farmer of the Year, Dairy Manager of the Year or Dairy Trainee of the Year go to www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz

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