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The three winners of the 2012 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are attending the National Agricultural Fieldays to promote the awards programme, meet with sponsors and find new ideas and technologies to assist their businesses.
New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year, Enda and Sarah Hawe, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year, Mick O'Connor, and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, Nathan Christian, will attend the Fieldays near Hamilton next week.
It will be the first time at Fieldays for the Hawes and O'Connor, while Christian is originally from Hamilton and has attended previously. All three are currently farming in Canterbury.
"I'm really looking forward to it. I like meeting people and we have a pretty full programme of activities lined up," Hawe says. "I've been to the A&P show and the National Ploughing Champs in Ireland so I'm expecting the Fieldays will be pretty high octane stuff."
He says winning the award had created a lot of interest, including from his homeland, Ireland. Three Irish newspapers as well as radio breakfast and farming shows had interviewed him.
"I am very conscious about where I come from and that the success is important for my parents too. I have come a long way from a little dairy farm in Ireland."
The Hawes are now 50% sharemilking 650 cows in Canterbury.
National convenor Chris Keeping says it has become a tradition for the winners to attend Fieldays.
"They really enjoy the chance to get together and share experiences since their win, and meet with sponsors and industry representatives. Over time they will recognise the experiences they gain and people they meet from their awards win can present unique opportunities and change for them," Keeping says.
The Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner AgITO.
A function at Parliament on 7th October brought together central government decision-makers, MPs, industry stakeholders and commercial partners to highlight the need for strategic investment in the future of Fieldays and its home, the Mystery Creek Events Centre campus.
The iconic services building at National Fieldays' Mystery Creek site will be demolished to make way for a "contemporary replacement that better serves the needs of both the community and event organisers," says board chair Jenni Vernon.
OPINION: The Rural Support Trust ran a dinner and debate at the National Fieldays last month. In tables of 10, over 540 people were wined and dined, including the Prime Minister, supported by ministers from around the country.
Cautiously optimistic is how DairyNZ's regional manager for the lower North Island, Mark Laurence describes the mood of farmers in his patch.
New Federated Farmers national dairy chair Karl Dean is looking forward to tackling the issues facing the sector.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
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