Dairy Focus March 2012

Page 8

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Dairy Industry Award finalists Canterbury/ North Otago region

It is their second time entering the awards, where they hope to surround themselves with positive like-minded people. “We want to raise our profile and develop our business.” They say the contest gave them the opportunity to take a good look at their business and scrutinise it, as well as benchmarking it against the best in the industry.

Sharemilker/equity farmer of the year finalists: Glen and Wendy Drummond farm at Culverden, where they are 50:50 sharemilkers with farm owner Rod Thomson. Two-year-old daughter Sophie keeps their life busy. The farm milks 430 cows, with a seasonal production of 170,000kgMS. Effective hectares total 120ha. They have entered the competition once before and are back for more. “We want to analyse our business, put procedures into place, find out what we do well and what we can improve on.” Enda and Sarah Hawe milk 1410 cows on Valetta Westerfield Road, in Mid Canterbury. They are lower order sharemilkers for Ben and Shannon Johnson, and have two children Niamh and Kayleigh. On 370 effective hectares, the herd produces 600,000kgMS annually. Enda and Sarah Hawe It is the third time they have entered the awards and they see it as a way of raising their profile in the industry. “It’s also about networking with like-minded people.” The couple see the awards as a tool to achieving their goal of farm ownership one day. Irish-born Enda loves living in New Zealand, and says the scope and scale of dairying here allows him to achieve dreams and goals.

James and Belinda McCone James and Belinda McCone, and children Fergus and Max, live at Waiau, where they are equity farm managers on a 1150-cow farm owned by L. H. Dairy Ltd. Farm effective hectares total 328, and the herd produces 485,000kgMS a season. They are new to the competition, but hope it will improve their business and help get policies and procedures up to standard. They also see it as a way or raising their profile within the industry. Earl and Melissa McSweeney have three children, Ella, Caden and Rylan, and are equity farm managers for Alford Forest Dairies on Forks Road, at Alford Forest. They milk 840 cows on 240 effective hectares, with production for the season 350,000kgMS. Benchmarking their operation against other top performers, the challenge of the competition, and creating opportunities for the future are their reasons for entering. They have the experience of one previous competition to help them prepare. Boyd and Annette Slemmint are lower order sharemilkers for Dairy Holdings, farming at Oxford with their children Nicholas, Connor and Sonja. They milk 750 cows on 224 effective hectares. Production for the season is 280,000kgMS.

Oamaru couple Hayden and Robyn Williams are 50:50 sharemilkers for Dennison Farms. They milk 560 cows, on 153 effective hectares, with a production of 235kgMS. They are newcomers to the competition, but wanted a chance to focus on their business and better understand it. The Williams say they also look forward to networking with other good farmers. “We are very excited to be part of such a progressive industry.”

Farm manager of the year finalists: Shannon Croy – the third time he has entered the contest.

Shannon Croy is married to Sarah and lives with their two boys Jack and Charlie on Reynolds Road, near Methven, where he is a farm manager for Waimana Dairies. The farm milks 500 cows on 134 effective hectares. Production for the season is 250,000kgMS. It is the third time he has entered the contest and says it is a great way to meet forward-thinking people. “The feedback from judges is very helpful for not only the way I run the farm, but also for personal

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