They won the Northland Regional Council Leadership Award where judges complimented them on leadership which they said was evident despite a busy lifestyle.
They also won the Westpac Financial Planning and Management Award where they were again complimented, this time on their precise plan for the future.
And it was only when they took out the Farm Manager title that Mike, 29, admitted it was his wife’s 27th birthday.
The couple contract milk 190 cows on 75ha at Poroti, near Whangarei for Greg and Paula Powell. Donna works off-farm part-time as an occupational therapist.
The couple has entered the awards for the last three years with Donna saying they “disappeared into a hole” to concentrate on their preparation. They appreciated the opportunity to challenge how well they knew their business and to assess if they were achieving the maximum potential from the farm.
Second placegetter was Luke Boylan who manages 273 cows on 95ha at Whangarei. He also took out the RD1 Farm Management Award. Third place went to Karla Frost who milks 253 cows on 84ha at Dargaville. She also won the Bell Booth Livestock Award. The Fonterra Best Practice Award went to Durin Blakeborough managing 180 cows on 80ha at Kaitaia and the Primary ITO Human Resource Management Award to Shane Cooper, also from Kaitaia. He milks 935 cows on 373ha.
