Saturday, March 30, 2024

Employers encourage staff to enter dairy awards

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Encouraging staff to enter the 2015 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards will help their progress in the dairy industry, farmers Richard and Joanna Greaves say.
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The couple have always encouraged their staff to enter the awards and expect two to enter for 2015.

Entries are open at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz and close on November 30.

The Greaves’ are currently 50:50 sharemilking 1400 cows at Darfield, Canterbury, after starting their dairy farming career in Hawkes Bay in 2007. With professional backgrounds and the assistance of the awards, the couple has made rapid progress. Richard was runner-up in the 2009 Hawkes Bay Farm Manager of the Year contest and the couple won the 2011 Hawkes Bay Sharemilker-Equity Farmer of the Year title.

“We were encouraged to enter the awards and have found them to be an incredible opportunity to benchmark against others and to challenge yourself and to grow.

“The dairy awards give you credibility, open opportunities and have been integral to our progress. Certainly, having the dairy awards on our CV opened a lot of doors when we shifted to Canterbury,” Joanna said.

“We can see how we have been able to grow through those opportunities, so to be able to give our guys and girls that same sort of push is really rewarding.”

She said it was satisfying to see staff progress in the industry. One staff member had been a shepherd on a sheep and beef farm since leaving school and had been unable to progress in the sector. He switched to dairy farming and in less than three years had gone from trainee, to herd manager, to managing a dairy farm.

“When our team is motivated to progress and are achieving their goals, by default we are achieving our goals and efficiencies are created. It’s a win-win for everyone. The dairy awards are an integral driver for this.

“It is our belief when employees have that passion to progress and challenge themselves, they tend to have the right attitude, they want to learn and grow and they are the people we want on our team,” Joanna said.

The awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, RD1 and Triplejump, with industry partner Primary ITO.

For more information visit www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.

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