Dairy industry’s finest recognised in awards

Sharing the enthusiasm for dairy farming with like-minded people has already been rewarding for West Coast Top of the South Dairy Industry Awards ‘Share Farmer of the Year’ contestants, Merryn and Michael Ashton.

The couple are sharemilkers on a Sherry River farm where they milk 400 cows, along with managing a pedigree Jersey stud they brought with them from Hawke’s Bay 18 months ago.

Though Michael is a third-generation dairy farmer, Merryn was a radiation therapist before switching her indoor job for milking cows and she is loving the job and loving the cows.

The couple join more than 20 other entrants in the awards programme with winners revealed at tonight's awards dinner at The West Coast Event’s Centre in Shantytown.

Merryn says the best part about entering the awards is meeting like-minded people who share their enthusiasm for dairy farming, while learning more that will benefit their business.

“It’s been a great learning experience and good to get feedback from the judges. It’s such a positive experience.”

Likewise, fellow contestants for the Share Farmer of the Year award, Mark and Esther Tubman, say the competition is a chance to mix with other positive people in the industry and learn more.

Mark came to New Zealand in 2013 for a six-month holiday and never left. Today they milk 350 cows on Esther’s parents farm at Puramahoi after progressing their way up the dairy ladder. Entering the awards was the next step.

“It’s more about being with all the positive people in the dairy industry. If you mix with like-minded people, you do well in the dairy industry. It’s a wonderful industry.”

The programme promotes learning, connecting and positive growth for all involved, as well as recognising top dairy talent, and runs at a regional level until April before the regional winners head to the national finals to be held in Auckland on Saturday 13 May.

The West Coast Top of the South region is large, covering Marlborough, Nelson, Tasman and the West Coast, with entrants from all corners of the region beginning their preparation for judging back in February.

The competition began with entrants and sponsors coming together with regional committee members and past winners for a light-hearted event which was held at the Reefton Golf Club Rooms in January.

West Coast/Top of South regional manager Michelle Coates says that the Reefton entrant/sponsor event provided a great opportunity for those involved in the awards programme to connect.

“It is a particularly good opportunity for our entrants and sponsors to get to know each other in a relaxed environment,” she says.

“Without our fantastic team of national and regional sponsors we simply couldn’t run this programme, and we always get great feedback on the benefit of getting together at the entrant/sponsor night.”

The six dairy trainees, five dairy managers and five share farmer finalists will be waiting with bated breath to see who will take out the 2023 regional winner titles.

There are also merit awards up for grabs, from the dairy trainee Emerging Talent to the People & Leadership Award for the dairy managers, and Business Performance Award in the share farmer category.

The regional awards’ programme is run by a small, dedicated volunteer committee.