‘Quiet achiever’ wins dairy manager title

ARongotea dairy farm manager has won a national title. Hayley Hoogendyk was named the New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year at the national Dairy Industry Awards.

Judges praised the ‘‘quietachiever’’.

‘‘She has an all-round solid approach to the way she manages the farm she is working on. Her staff management was exceptional and her ability to set tasks and achieve targets were all linked to her people management skills,’’ said head judge Richard Kyte from Dairynz.

He said the high calibre of the dairy manager finalists made judging difficult.

The 28-year-old is the farm manager for Te Paratai Farms Ltd, on Nigel, Roger and Noelene Taylor ‘s 220 hectare, 600 cow property in Rongotea.

She won $22,600 in cash and prizes. Hoogendyk was the Manawatu Dairy Trainee of the Year in 2014.

‘‘Hayley has a great understanding on how to empower people to work to their best potential to work in making the whole team more efficient. She is quite insightful for someone who is reasonably young,’’ said Kyte.

‘‘She’s a young woman managing a team of men and does well motivating them to perform at a very high level. Her team hold her in high-regard and there is a great team culture.

‘‘She understands all the different personalities of her staff and how they fit in with each other.’’

He said her on-farm skills were exceptional.

‘‘The farm business is performing well and her pasture management is excellent. Hayley is a hands-on manager and likes being out there alongside her staff.’’

‘‘Hayley empowers her staff to work together to meet targets. She has an excellent manner with animals and is concerned about the welfare of each individual cow. In her spare time, she is also extremely active in her community.’’

Kyte said there were several noticeable trends showing with the finalists, including ownership of their roles, care of staff and the desire to give back to the industry.

‘‘Some of the finalists are new managers and they are already wanting to support other people into the dairy industry and to promote it as a career pathway,’’ said Kyte.

There was also increased awareness regarding health and safety practices.

Kyte said there was a definite lack of entrants striving for farm ownership.

‘‘The industry needs to think about succession moving forward,’’ he said.

The winners and finalists represented a group of people who were acutely aware of environmental issues and the dairy industry’s role in farming responsibly.

Christopher and Siobhan O’malley were named New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year and Clay Paton was the New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year.

The three winners shared prizes worth over $190,000.