Dairynz kicks off new campaign to attract more Kiwis to dairy

Dairynz kicks off new campaign to attract more Kiwis to dairy.

A young female farmer with a love of rural New Zealand is helping to launch Dairynz's latest campaign, which aims to give Kiwis a better understanding of what it means to be a dairy farmer.

Dairynz chief executive Dr Mackle says Dairynz's Join Us campaign is part of a wider project – 'Here for the Long Game' - aiming to help communities understand what drives dairy farmers, and how they are working to provide a better future for their farms, the land, their families, their communities, and New Zealand.

“Dairy farmers are a core part of the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of communities throughout New Zealand, and our wider 'Here for the Long Game' campaign is a platform for dairy farmers to share with other Kiwis who they are and what they do in a way that's open and fun,” he says.

“Welcoming and supporting new farming talent is vital to the sector's long game, so we're excited to launch a new campaign encouraging young Kiwis to get into the dairy sector.

The Join Us campaign looks into daily life on a farm, from working with machinery and technology, to caring for animals and the land.

“It's about showing young Kiwis that, for those keen to get stuck in, dairying offers a truly rewarding career and lifestyle. By joining us, you're not only securing your own future, but becoming part of creating a better one for all New Zealanders.”

The Join Us campaign is fronted by Eastern Bay of Plenty dairy farmer Shannon Munro, who has been dairy farming for about 10 years.

With her husband and three children, Munro says they opted to move away from urban city life to provide a different upbringing for her young family.

Her husband Steve was a builder and after the birth of their first son, they agreed that a city lifestyle wasn't what they wanted for their family.

They moved from Te Puke to Ngakuru, a rural community in Rotorua Lakes, where Steve found a job as a farm assistant. With her son in tow, Shannon helped with calving and rearing the calves.

Over the next decade as their family expanded, they progressed into farm manager and 2IC roles, and