The winners of the 2025 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Industry Awards are proud to have achieved a 50/50 sharemilking role at a young age and are on track to buy their first farm.
Brad and Courtney Edwards were named the region’s Share Farmer of the Year at the annual awards dinner which was held at the Thames Civic Centre on March 11.
Steven Pratt was named the 2025 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Manager of the Year and Caitlin Snodgrass the 2025 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Trainee of the Year.
Due to the minimum number of finalists not being reached, Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmer entrant scores were benchmarked against the national average, with data collated from the 10 other regions.
This means merit awards are awarded if the entrant achieved at the right level.
Brad and Courtney are 50/50 sharemilking for Maureen Martinovich on her 90ha, 240-cow property at Ngatea.
The couple were runners-up in the same category last year and made the most out of the opportunities that came from the experience.
“We found out so much more about our business that we thought we knew, until we benchmarked against others with Dairybase.”
The 24-year-olds are both active in the community with hockey and Hauraki Young Farmers.
The couple believe they are on track financially to hit their goal in five years and buy their own farm by age 30.
“One of our biggest challenges was applying for bank loans when we first started sharemilking four years ago, as we were just 20 years old and the banks said we were too young,” the couple say.
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors ASB, CowManager, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda, LIC, and Trelleborg, along with industry partners DairyNZ and MediaWorks.
Runner-up in the Share Farmer category was awarded to Franklin’s Justin Ruygrok. Justin is 28 percent sharemilker on Ray and Tony Reid’s 52ha, 170-cow Waiuku farm.
The first-time entrant holds a National Certificate in Farm Skills (Level 2 & 3) from Taratahi and a Diploma in Agriculture from Massey University.
“Taratahi was a great start to my career and I would love to see it return and provide training to keen young farmers,” Justin says.
With a goal of farm ownership, the 28-year-old is proud he bought his herd two years ago and enjoys setting challenges and achieving them, placing first in Northern Region Young Farmer of the Year this year.
A strong working relationship with the farm owners enables Justin to run the farm, knowing he has their trust and support.
“There are long-term plans in place and opportunities to purchase the farm in the future, meaning I have a greater focus,” Justin says.
Steven Pratt was named 2025 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Manager of the Year and won $8139 in prizes plus three merit awards. He was runner-up in the same category last year.
Steven holds a Bachelor of Agriculture from Lincoln University and is the farm manager on David and Paula Pratt’s 170ha, 430-cow Patetonga property.
Runner-up in the 2025 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Manager category went to Owen Clifford, who placed third in the same category last year. He is the farm manager for Ross and Tracey Laing on their 200ha, 500-cow Waerenga property.
The third placegetter in the Dairy Manager category was awarded to Satbeer Singh Sandhu, who is 2IC on Carl Thomas’ 97ha, 304-cow Te Aroha farm.
The winner of the 2025 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Trainee of the Year category is Caitlin Snodgrass who was runner-up in the same category last year. Caitlin is a farm assistant on Stu and Karen Davey’s 220ha, 650-cow Paeroa property.
Runner-Up in the Dairy Trainee category was awarded to North Waikato’s Katie Roper who is 2IC assistant manager on Ashley and Ayna Thomas’ 130ha, 400-cow Pukekawa property. The 23-year-old aims to be in a manager position in the next two years, with an ultimate goal of farm ownership.
The third placegetter went to Cillian Aberhart, a 21-year-old farm assistant on Gale Bebington’s 130ha Te Aroha farm.
The Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Industry Awards field day will be held on March 26 at 10.30am, 1873 State Highway 27, RD3, Morrinsville 3373, Fonterra S/N 75075. Further details on the winners and the field day can be found at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.
Share Farmer Merit Awards:
- DairyNZ – People & Culture Award, Justin Ruygrok
- Ecolab Total Farm Hygiene & Innovation Award, Brad & Courtney Edwards
- Federated Farmers Leadership Award, Justin Ruygrok
- Honda Farm Safety, Health & Biosecurity Award, Brad & Courtney Edwards
- LIC – Animal Wellbeing, Recording and Productivity Award, Brad & Courtney Edwards
- Diprose Millar Environmental Sustainability Award, Brad & Courtney Edwards
- Trelleborg Sustainable Pasture Award, Brad & Courtney Edwards
- ASB Business Performance Award, Brad & Courtney Edwards
Dairy Manager Merit
- CowManager Livestock Management Award, Steven Pratt
- Fonterra Dairy Management Award Satbeer, Singh Sandhu
- DeLaval Pasture & Feed Management Award, Owen Clifford
- Pioneer Environmental Sustainability Award, Owen Clifford
- Dairy Training Ltd People & Leadership Award, Steven Pratt
- Blackman Spargo Rural Law Planning & Financial Management Award, Steven Pratt
- NZ Farmers Livestock Emerging Talent Award, Shavaun McLean
Dairy Trainee Merit Awards:
- DairyNZ Practical Skills Award, Katie Roper
- Brandt Emerging Talent Award, Aristotle Sadinas
- Franklin Vets Farming Knowledge Award, Caitlin Snodgrass
- Taylor Bros Communication & Industry Involvement Award, Caitlin Snodgrass
