Welcome to the season’s much-anticipated edition of ‘Cream of the Crop’! On behalf of the NZ Dairy Industry Awards and the NZ Dairy Exporter, it is my honour to introduce to you our 2022 National Finalists.
As we move into our third year of running our programme through the disruptions and challenges that a global pandemic has brought, it is incredible to look back and see how far we have come. We have learnt to be nimble, adaptable, and open-minded as we continue to navigate this challenging time in our history.
But as they say, “The bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity for growth” and with that in mind it was exhilarating to roll out some substantial changes this season in our Dairy Trainee of the Year and Dairy Manager of the Year programmes.
Although early days signals show these changes have been well received and over the next few weeks, we look forward to gathering feedback on how we can improve again for next season.
Our programme would not be what it is today without the support and dedication from our national sponsors, regional and national judges, our large family of volunteers and our management team who together enable us to deliver a thriving and successful programme each year.
In a few short weeks our regional winners will come together in Christchurch to take part in the highlight of our programme “Nationals Week”. The week is an opportunity for all of our finalists to continue their journey of learning, connecting and growing. We are thrilled to be heading down south this year and to be able to host our Nationals week in Christchurch for the first time since 2008.
The National Awards dinner will be held at Te Pae, Christchurch, on Saturday, May 14, I extend a warm invitation to join us in celebrating some incredible people of our industry. I look forward to seeing you there. (At the time of writing Covid-19 restrictions prevent us from holding our National Awards dinner so we wait in eager anticipation for these restrictions to lift).
AMBER CARPENTER
Executive Chair NZ Dairy Industry Awards of the crop
