DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS
The 2022 National Dairy Industry Award winners are the cream of the crop. Dairy Trainee of the Year Peter O’Connor, Share Farmer of the Year Will Green and Dairy Manager of the Year Jaspal Singh. All are from the Canterbury/North Otago region.
Winner takes it all By Sonita Chandar
This year’s New Zealand Dairy Industry Award winners are all go-getters who are on the road to success.
T
he 2022 Dairy Industry Share Farmer of the Year winner is still processing the big win but says he is humbled by it. History was made at this year’s awards after Canterbury/Otago achieved a clean sweep of all three major categories and the Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award, with national finalists from that region taking home the silverware. “It is a humbling experience. I really enjoyed the whole process of the awards
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and winning has just been the cherry on the top,” Share Farmer of the Year winner Will Green says. “The fact that we all come from the same region is a credit to us all in Canterbury. We all put the work in and it was amazing to have that home support.” Originally from the UK, the 34-yearold is a 34% sharemilker on the 270ha Dairy Holdings Ltd Hinds property, milking 1060 cows. Green holds a Degree
in Agriculture from Harper Adams University and enjoys farming, as it gives him the opportunity to work outdoors and with livestock. “I have been here in New Zealand for eight years, away from friends and family so don’t have a network, but my partner Sally Eames has been a huge support through the whole process. So have the farm owners,” he says. He says meeting and spending time with other finalists has also helped him
DAIRY FARMER
June 2022