Dairy award entries are open
Nominations are open for a national award recognising dairy farmers who show leadership in sustainable dairying and are ambassadors for the industry.
The Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award was introduced last year to recognise dairy farmers who are respected by their farming peers and their community for their attitude and role in sustainable dairying. Entry is by nomination at dairyindustryawards.co.nz
Awards executive chair Rachel Baker said the winner could be any one of the country’s milk suppliers who demonstrated a high calibre of performance and leadership in the areas of responsible and sustainable care of people, animals, ecosystems and communities.
Farmers were also being encouraged to share stories of how they were farming responsibly, environmentally and socially, and to showcase excellence.
“Many of our winners and entrants for our dairy trainee, dairy manager and share farmer awards programmes do just this, and progress to leadership roles within the industry and their communities,” Ms Baker said.
“This award gives us the opportunity to recognise farmers who have progressed to ownership, demonstrate leadership in their farming practices, and are a role model for our younger farmers coming through.”
Nomination close on March 20. Three finalists will be interviewed by a panel of judges on May 10, with the winner to be announced in Wellington next day.
Meanwhile 393 entries have been received for the 2019 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, 106 entered in the Share Farmer of the Year category, 166 in Dairy Manager of the Year and 121 in the Dairy Trainee of the Year. The Ministry for Primary Industries last week announced funding of $9.8 million for 31 new Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) projects.
The SFF provides funding for projects led by farmers, growers, and foresters aimed at building economic, environmental and social sustainability in the primary sector.
It has recently been replaced by MPI’s new Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) programme, but the 31 projects were in the pipeline prior to its launch in October last year.
“SFF has been instrumental in kicking off both small and large innovative, community-led projects, and laying the groundwork for SFF Futures,” Director of Investment Programmes Steve Penno said.
“The 31 projects cover areas from apiculture and dairy to soil management and horticulture, and are great examples of innovative thinking. These projects look at tackling problems or advancing opportunities for the community. They’ll contribute towards growing our regional economies, protecting our environment and providing social benefits for New Zealand.
“They range from a project aimed at building our apiculture industry’s capacity by training people on tree species that support bee populations, to one that’s about improving water quality through the use of plantain pastures to reduce nitrogen leaching.
“Another project is looking to understand fish behaviour at pump stations and how to reduce the threat the stations have on native fish, while another involving five properties in the central Hawke’s Bay will assess the opportunity for growing kiwifruit in the region.”