From the grassroots regions of rural New Zealand through to the big city lights of the national finals, Ravensdown are right there behind our dairy industry stars as they learn, connect and grow through the NZDIA Awards programme.

Ravensdown have been proud sponsors of the event for almost 18 years, and we are once again excited to be on the journey with the 2019 finalists as they prepare for the national final in Wellington on 11 May.

Here are just a couple of ways we help our industry champions get the most out of the awards: 

Ravensdown Awards

• Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award (Share Farmer of the Year, regional and national level)
• Ravensdown Feed Management Award (National Dairy Manager of the Year Competition)
  

Pasture production is a fundamental building block in any dairy farm operation, and it’s something that Ravensdown is dedicated to building an optimal and sustainable framework around. The Ravensdown Pasture Performance Award is given out at both regional and national level, recognising excellence in pasture management, while the Ravensdown Feed Management Award is presented as a merit prize in the national Dairy Manager of the Year category. A local Ravensdown representative helps our prize winners select from one of four categories (environmental management, agronomy, animal health or personal development) from which they can build a suite of products and services to suit their needs.

The Ravensdown Relief Milking Fund

To help the Share Farmer of the Year regional finalists ready themselves for the big event, Ravensdown offers $1000 cash to go towards hiring a relief milker. This means finalists can put more time into preparing themselves for the national Share Farmer of the Year title, rather than covering day-to-day tasks on the farm.

Finalists can access the funds at any stage leading up to, or during, the national awards by calling the regional NZDIA Committee Chair to arrange for the funds to be released.