Variety and challenge keep winner keen
The winner of the 2021 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year, Sydney Porter, didn’t know she wanted to go dairy farming until she started helping her older brother.
She says being outside and being surrounded by cows captured her heart. Variety from one day to the next also appeals to Sydney, 22, who says she loves a challenge.
“I love that no day is the same – you can be a milker one day, a vet nurse the next, a mechanic one hour and a fencer the next.”
Sydney lived on a dairy farm until she was 11. But fast forward a few years, she had left school and wasn’t sure what to do next. Her brother Connor was starting his first contract position and needed a farm hand to help during spring calving.
“I moved in with him in Eltham and worked for him for six months, grew some pretty thick skin and learn a lot from him. He’s to thank for kick starting my dairying career. If it wasn’t for him pulling me in, I probably never would’ve given dairy farming a go.”
She is now farm assistant on Phil and Tanya Nixon’s 110ha, 320-cow farm in Hawera.
“I’m excited to see dairy farmers and the dairy industry receive the thanks we deserve in the future,’’ she says.
‘‘I wouldn’t want to change anything about the industry itself, more how people perceive it.’’
Sydney acknowledges managing depression in a physically demanding position has been a challenge.
‘‘Dairy farming and depression go together like tomato sauce on ice-cream,’’ she says. ‘‘I’m proud to still be here today without giving up, the light at the end of the tunnel really shone through and I’m lucky to have supportive bosses whose priority was making sure I was okay.’’
Looking ahead to the future, she wants to be involved in the dairy industry in some capacity.
‘‘I’m not 100 per cent on my plans, I just know I want to do as many qualifications and study as possible to keep my options open.’’
She has plans to move onto Level 4 with Primary ITO in the next few months.
‘‘…then carry on through as much as I can so I have plenty of pathways to venture down if my heart ever strays from dairy farming. Jax, my trainee adviser, is incredibly supportive and wants to see me succeed so I know each time I finish a paper, she’ll have another one lined up for me to have a crack at.’’
Sydney is a member of South Taranaki Young Farmers, which she says is an awesome group to be part of, and she’s grateful for their amazing support throughout the awards. This is the second time she has entered and says putting herself out there was a personal achievement.
‘‘I’ve gained friendships and so much more farm knowledge.’’
This year, as well as the overall title, she won the Taranaki Veterinary Centre Farming Knowledge Award and the Bayleys Real Estate Taranaki Communication and Engagement Award.
Farm assistant Logan Stevenson placed second in the dairy trainee category, also winning the DairyNZ Practical Skills Award. Logan works on a 195ha Opunake property milking 515 cows.
A former heavy machinery operator in civil engineering, Logan enjoys the results from hard work and dealing with animals at different stages of their lives.
Ngaiana Miller was third and also won the LandPro Ltd. Community and Industry Involvement Award. She is a trainee herd assistant on a 157ha Eltham farm milking 430 cows.
The Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards field day was on April 15, in Hawera, where Taranaki Share Farmer of the Year, John Wyatt contract milks. There was also a presentation from Sydney, and the region’s Dairy Manager of the Year, Diego Gomez.