Brothers create history with top dairy award

Manoj Kumar and Sumit Kamboj, 50/50 sharemilkers on two farms in Eketahuna, beat 10 other regional winners to claim the prestigious title and $50,000 in prizes.

The brothers are the first pair of siblings to win the national title.

Manoj Kumar, who arrived in NZ 11 years to study horticulture, says winning the title is a great honour.

Kamboj, who joined his brother in NZ later, attributed the win to their hard work and support from farm owners and their staff.

Share Farmer head judge, Jacqui Groves from Westpac, says Manoj and Sumit impressed the judges with glowing reports from current and past employers and employees. 

“They have amazing relationships with two sets of owners, who really believe in them and are following the boys’ dream.”

The judges were also impressed with their on-farm presentation, which used drone footage from their family farm in Northern India to explain their history and where they are from.  “They literally took us there.”

“We were pretty blown away after meeting them,” said Jacqui.  “They became ‘our boys’ and they benchmarked excellence.”

Both Manoj and Sumit have entered the Awards previously, with Sumit placing third in the 2018 Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa Dairy Manager category. 

They say entering the Awards programme has created an excellent network within the industry and valuable feedback from judges.

“We overcame the lack of a network by engaging more and more in dairy industry events.”

“The New Zealand dairy farming system is totally different from back home in India and it really appeals to us,” they say.

“It’s very rewarding as we can see the improvements we make on-farm and there is a culture unlike any other industry.”

“The boys were simply superb,” says fellow Share Farmer judge John Numan. “Manoj and Sumit were professional, driven and high-achieving farmers.  They were very impressive.”

To win the national title and $50,000 in prizes, Manoj and Sumit demonstrated strengths in leadership, health and farm safety, business and community engagement.  They also won three merit awards: the Federated Farmers Leadership Award, Honda Farm Safety, Health and Biosecurity Award and the Westpac Business Performance Award.

Fellow Share Farmer judge Guy Michaels from DairyNZ says the brothers demonstrated involvement and leadership in the local community and in the dairy community. “They have a willingness to work with others to achieve joint goals and advocate on behalf of others,” he said.

An example of this was Manoj and Sumit assisting a family in Wellington who had lost employment due to Covid-19.  “They relocated the family and encouraged them into a role within the dairy industry.”

The judges also noted that the brothers had a strong health and safety culture on-farm.  “They have a long history of recording incidents and actually following through with changes.”

Michael also noted how strong the brothers were in their community involvement and leadership.

“They have promoted PrimaryITO courses to everyone in their community and have offered up one of their buildings to ensure the training takes place.”