Opportunities galore
Dairy Trainee of the Year Peter O'Connor is both honoured and surprised with his win.
The 2015 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, James Davidson, is passionate about the dairy industry and has identified a career pathway within it.
“We warmed to his presentation and he was very confident in himself,” category head judge Nikki Halford, a Hawkes Bay farmer, says.
“The video James prepared for judging was fantastic and illustrated the variety of knowledge and skills required to manage a dairy farm. It showed his passion for dairying and the variety it offers.”
Davidson (26) won $19,500 in prizes. He working on a Darfield, Canterbury, farm owned by Warren and Annemieke Thomas, milking 1400 cows. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Farm Management and plans to go contract milking.
Second place in the dairy trainee contest went to Central Plateau representative Gerard van der Mark, who won $3500 in prizes. Halford says he is ready for farm management. “Gerard presents as someone who is already not at dairy trainee level, as he is thinking about managing his team and farm costs.”
Waikato’s Brett Steeghs won third in the contest, winning $2500 in prizes. Steeghs is just finishing his first season in the industry and has secured a 50% sharemilking position with his partner – and last year’s New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, Ruth Hone – for next season.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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