TARANAKI DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

March 3, 2026

The winners of the 2026 Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards were announced at the annual awards dinner held at the TSB Hub at Hawera on Monday evening.

Samantha and Tom Lumsden were named the region’s Share Farmer of the Year, with Miriam Lauridsen winning the 2026 Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year, and Shicaela Kane taking out the title for the 2026 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year.

The 2026 Taranaki Share Farmers of the Year Samantha and Tom Lumsden are a sharemilking partnership with Samantha managing the daily farm work and Tom working off-farm.

The couple are contract milking for Tom Lance, milking 330 cows on 121ha at Waverly.

After both leaving school at 15 years old to go dairy farming, the couple love the job and life farming has provided to bring up their three children.

Samantha, 35, has been dairy farming for the past 20 years, contract milking for the past six seasons and runs the farm, with Tom, 35, managing a quarry and helping with human resources and maintenance work on the farm.

Samantha has studied Primary ITO Levels 1-4 and completed a Diploma in Agriculture Business while moving up the farming career ladder.

“I love the challenge that comes with running the farm and I’m really passionate about cows. I am driven by my responsibility to my animals, my business and my family.”

The judges commented Samantha and Tom were “authentic, credible and full of heart, they are outstanding emerging leaders in our industry”.

Samantha and Tom took home six merit awards and won $11,600.

Runner-up in the Share Farmer category is Craig and Kelsey Fisher from Stratford, who won $4,800 and two merit awards.

The couple are 50/50 sharemilking for Wayne and Sharon Fisher, milking 230 cows on 82ha.

Craig has more than 20 years’ experience working on farm and Kelsey works on the farm around her full-time job as a chartered accountant.

The couple have learnt to farm smarter not harder and have put in good systems to manage workload to achieve the best results on farm.

One of their proudest achievements was getting a pass from the Taranaki Regional Council for their riparian fencing and planting audit.

“It was a big moment for us because it recognised the effort we’ve put into improving our waterways and doing the right thing environmentally. It felt like a real win for our business and our farm.”

Third place in the Taranaki Share Farmer category was awarded to Bradley and Melissa Bullot who won $2,800 on the night.

Bradley, 31, and Melissa, 29, are contract milkers for Dayle and Chayce Bailey, milking 270 cows on 88ha in Stratford.

The couple have two young kids and are balancing farm life with working hard to grow equity to go sharemilking.

Note: Due to the minimum number of finalists not being reached, Taranaki Share Farmer entrant scores were benchmarked against the national average, with data collated from the 10 other regions. Merit awards and placings were only presented where entrants achieved the required benchmark level.

Miriam Lauridsen was named the 2026 Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year on Monday evening, taking home $6,700 and two merit awards.

The 29-year old is pasture, forage and herd manager for Liam O’Sullivan at New Plymouth, milking 370 cows on 137ha.

Being supported by great employers and studying has continued to lift Miriam’s confidence and given her the belief she can pursue a career in dairy.

“Doing PrimaryITO study and having such amazing and supportive employers has really helped me gain confidence and given me a desire to progress further in the dairy industry.”

Entering the Dairy Industry Awards was another challenge to push herself out of her comfort zone.

“The awards process has challenged me to look ahead and set realistic goals for the future and to set up actions to achieve them.”

Runner-up in the Dairy Manager category is Kate Logan, who is farm manager for Shirley Kissick on her 206ha farm at Hawera, milking 600 cows.

Kate won the Taranaki Dairy Trainee title in 2022. Entering the awards was a great way to increase her knowledge and build connections with other people in the industry, which inspired her to enter again this year.

“The connections I have made are priceless, there are so many people I could call at any time who would be willing to help in any way they can.”

Kate, 25, grew up on a dairy farm and went farming as soon as she left school and has since worked on farms in New Zealand and England.

“Dairy farming constantly pushes me to expand my knowledge, improve processes, and strive for better outcomes for the animals, the land, and the business.”

Kate won $2,800 and three merit awards.

Third place went to Laura Potroz who won $2,050 on the night.

She is herd manager for Chris and Amy Knowles on their 153ha farm at Tariki, milking 440 cows.

The 2026 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year Shicaela Kane wants to set a good example for other young farmers and women in the dairy industry.

Shicaela, 23, is farm assistant for Dominic Schuler at Hawera, milking 300 cows on 92ha.

Shicaela grew up on a dairy farm and worked for a year in a local veterinary clinic before the opportunity came up to work on her family farm alongside her father and brother.

“Getting the opportunity to go out on farm with the vets really peaked my interest. Seeing the veterinary side was a lot different to relief milking cows as a kid and it gave me more of an appreciation to the hard work and dedication of the industry.”

Shicaela is studying Level 4 New Zealand Apprenticeship in Agriculture Dairy Farming through PrimaryITO and is also chairperson for South Taranaki Young Farmers and is part of the Dairy Environmental Leaders network.

“I enjoy sharing the same vision of the farmer-led network to help encourage and influence other farmers to make a positive impact on the environment to ensure we have a sustainable future in dairy farming.”

Shicaela won three merit awards and $5,000 for winning the Dairy Trainee title.

Runner-up in the Dairy Trainee Category is Molly Yarrall, who won $1,750.

Molly is farm assistant for Briar and Marcus Yarrall on Phillip and Maree Gudopp’s 242ha farm at Eltham, milking 800 cows.

The 21-year-old says she still has some people underestimate her, with farming still somewhat of a male-dominated industry.

“I find it satisfying when I can prove them wrong.”

Third place went to Karleigh Moir, who won $1,250 and one merit award on the evening.

The 19-year-old is farm assistant for Joshua Lyon on a 115ha farm at Patea, milking 250 cows.

She is excited to be moving to a 2IC next season on a bigger farm and a large team environment and wants to work her way up through the industry.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors ASB, CowManager, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Honda, LIC, Power Farming and Trelleborg, along with industry partners Fonterra, DairyNZ, and The Country.

The Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards Field Day will be held on 19 March at 10.00am, 123 Parahaki Road, Waverley, Fonterra S/N 40077.

Further details on the winners and the Field Day can be found at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz

Results of the 2026 Taranaki Dairy Industry Awards:

2026 Taranaki Share Farmer of the Year

Winner – Samantha & Tom Lumsden

Runner Up – Craig & Kelsey Fisher

Third – Bradley & Melissa Bullot

2026 Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year

Winner – Miriam Lauridsen

Runner Up – Kate Logan

Third – Laura Potroz

2026 Taranaki Dairy Trainee of the Year