Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley were named the 2017 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year, Hayley Hoogendyk became the 2017 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year and Clay Paton was named the 2017 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year. They shared prizes worth over $190,000.
“There was an overwhelmingly strong theme among the 33 finalists competing for honours in the awards programme,” general manager Chris Keeping said. “The finalists are acutely aware of the importance of farming responsibly, with regards to both environmental issues and animal management. It’s extremely positive to see such dedication to these issues within the industry.”
Share farmer head judge Neil Gray, from Thames, said the judges were impressed to see all finalists had a strong focus on environmental issues and they understood the impact agriculture has on the environment.
“They had some fantastic systems to manage dairy farm effluent and were aware of the public perception around these issues as well.
“There was also a strong focus on animal welfare coming through. The condition and health of the herd was a priority for all finalists and they are genuinely aware of their responsibilities around animal health and welfare. That was definitely a strength for every finalist.
“This is my third year judging and it’s been wonderful to see the use of technology on farm increase over that time, and used so well. The younger people are using the advances in technology to their advantage and there is just so much you can do with it now, from data collection through to communicating with their staff.”
He said the O’Malleys are an excellent example of how embracing technology can enhance on farm health and safety practices. “An example of this was their use of a free app to communicate with their team to notify them immediately of a new hazard identified on-farm.
The 2017 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year winners, Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley, have a strong partnership on which to grow their business and to thrive on a challenge. The O’Malleys, both aged 34 years, are 50% sharemilking 515 cows on Graham Brookers 138ha farm in Ashburton.
The former adventure tourism guide and former secondary school teacher were very balanced right across all categories. “They presented themselves very well in the interview and were able to articulate their desire to not only progress their career but also to give back to the industry. They had a very unselfish attitude to their whole farm business,” Gray said.
“The O’Malley’s demonstrated very strongly that you can put together a high-quality herd of cows within a budget constraint. They put a lot of effort into finding the right cows and travelled many kilometres in the car around New Zealand to find the ones they wanted.
“They demonstrated a passion to give back to the industry and this was evident in their entirely selfless approach to their business and in their relationships with other people. They possess an empathy with their whole farm team.”
Dairy manager head judge Richard Kyte from DairyNZ said the high calibre of the dairy manager finalists made judging very difficult.
For the first time, a sole woman has won the Dairy Manager competition. A “quiet-achiever” is how judges described the 2017 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year, Hayley Hoogendyk.
The 28-year-old former event manager is farm manager for Te Paratai Farms Ltd, on Nigel, Roger and Noelene Taylor ‘s 220ha, 600 cow property in Rongotea. She won $22,600 in cash and prizes. Hayley also won the PrimaryITO Power Play Award. She was the Manawatu Dairy Trainee of the Year in 2014.
“Hayley has a great understanding on how to empower people to work to their best potential to work in making the whole team more efficient. She is quite insightful for someone who is reasonably young.”
“She’s a young woman managing a team of men and does well motivating them to perform at a very high level. Her team hold her in high-regard and there is a great team culture. She understands all the different personalities of her staff and how they fit in with each other.”
The 2017 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, Clay Paton, is very focused on his career goals, and is a passionate advocate for the industry. He has got a bright future ahead of him, Dairy Trainee head judge Andrew Reid from DairyNZ said.
Clay, aged 23 years, won $11,095 in prizes and the Best Video Award. He is 2IC on Brent and Michelle Riley’s 163ha Wakefield farm milking 450 cows.
“He has a clear balance between his work priorities and life and family balance. He is very driven but has a strong community focus and an awareness of the issues the industry will be facing in years to come.
“Clay is very family-orientated and wants a healthy and fun lifestyle for his young children. He sees the dairy industry as a way to progress his career and reach his life goals, and his goals of farm ownership must be right for the family.”
Full Results:
2017 New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year:
• Winner – Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley, Canterbury-North Otago
• Runner-up – Carlos and Bernice Delos Santos, Central Plateau
• Third – Dion and Johanna Bishell, Taranaki
• DairyNZ Human Resources Award – Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley
• Ecolab Farm Dairy Hygiene Award – Carlos and Bernice Delos Santos
• Federated Farmers Leadership Award – Jon and Vicki Nicholls
• Fonterra Farm Source Interview Award – Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley
• Honda Farm Safety and Health Award – Dion and Johanna Bishell
• LIC Recording and Productivity Award – Christopher and Siobhan O’Malley
• Meridian Energy Farm Environment Award – Dion and Johanna Bishell
• Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award – Russell and Tracy Bouma
• Westpac Business Performance Award – Dion and Johanna Bishell
2017 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year:
• Winner – Hayley Hoogendyk, Manawatu
• Runner-up – Kerry Higgins, Canterbury-North Otago
• Third – Rachel Foy, Auckland-Hauraki
• Dairy Manager of the Year Interview Award – Greg Imeson
• DairyNZ Employee Engagement Award – Anthony Kiff
• Meridian Energy Leadership Award – Jack Raharuhi
• Fonterra Farm Source Feed Management Award – Rachel Foy
• DeLaval Livestock Management Award – Shaun Neal
• PrimaryITO Power Play Award – Hayley Hoogendyk
• Fonterra Farm Source Dairy Management Award – Kerry Higgins
• Westpac Financial Management & Planning Award – Kerry Higgins
2017 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year:
• Winner – Clay Paton, West Coast-Top of the South
• Runner-up – Ben Haley, Canterbury-North Otago
• Third – Taylor Macdonald, Central Plateau
• DairyNZ Practical Skills Award – Taylor Macdonald
• NZDIA Communication and Engagement Award – Ben Haley
• Best Video Award presented by Spyglass – Clay Paton
