Dairy farmers and industry leaders gathered at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua on Saturday night to celebrate the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.
More than 640 people celebrated the theme of the evening Te Puna o te Mana, highlighting the source of excellence in the dairy industry.
Scott and Stacey Mackereth from Southland/Otago were named 2026 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year, Lauren McConnachie from Canterbury/North Otago became the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year and Mark Ready from West Coast/Top of the South was announced the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year.
The winners received prizes from a pool worth over $1,000,000.
A strong theme shone through this year across the multiple categories - that there are diverse pathways and huge equity potential in dairy farming available to people who put in the mahi.
The judges cited that people entering dairy farming can look to this year’s finalists and be encouraged by the multiple pathways, diversity in ownership structure, and life-changing opportunities that exist in the dairy 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, The Country and The Herald.
The Awards were also supported by BlackmanSpargo Rural Law, Craigmore, DeLaval and Novonesis.
2026 Share Farmer of the Year
Scott and Stacey Mackereth from Southland/Otago were named 2026 Share Farmers of the Year.
Scott, 42, and Stacey, 40, won $28,000 in prizes, along with taking home three merit awards; the Trelleborg Sustainable Pasture Award, DairyNZ People & Culture Award and Federated Farmers Leadership Award.
The couple are contract milking for Fortuna Group at Edendale, milking 1400 cows on 464ha.
Head Judge and dairy farmer Robert Ervine said Scott and Stacey make a dynamic team.
“Their skills complement each other. Scott is very data driven and wears multiple hats, overseeing multiple operations and managing 13 staff who are all driven to perform every day, and Stacey is very grounding – she’s the glue.”
The couple have great attention to detail while farming at scale, but people and family are still at the centre of everything they do.
They have implemented the Te Whare Tapa Whā holistic Māori health model and focus on their team’s wellbeing, even allocating half an hour to all of their staff every week to fill in a reflection journal.
The judges noted they have created a supportive pipeline and make sure there are pathways for people to progress within the business.
The judges were impressed by Scott’s journey to bounce back after COVID disrupted his business ventures in the United States and he returned to rebuild from scratch in New Zealand by going farming.
“They’ve learnt from their prior experience and Scott is really passionate about sharing and learning from failure.
“They really prove that when you get knocked down you get up and go harder.”
The couple have proved they have great respect from their employers and can turn poor-performing land into an exceptional farm business.
Their motto is ‘Go Fast Alone or Go Far Together’ and their progress in the industry is certainly proof of that.
Glenn and Georgie van Heuven from Waikato were named runner-up in the New Zealand Share Farmer of the Year taking home over $15,000 in prizes along with winning the use of a Kioti HX 130-140hp tractor for a whole year, thanks to new national sponsor Power Farming.
Glenn, 37, and Georgie, 36, are 50/50 sharemilking 405 cows on 103ha for Sid and Dellas Anderton at Matamata.
Glenn and Georgie also won the ASB Business Performance Award. Their strength around financial performance stood out to the judges along with their excellent structures, reporting and goal setting.
The judges noted Glenn and Georgie’s genuine commitment to their community, including inviting local school children to learn maths in practical settings on farm.
“They are selfless people who give back to their community no matter how busy they are.”
Glenn and Georgie also won the CowManager Experience for two years, and will get to take the cow monitoring system into their new 50% equity partnership venture this season.
The judges commented there was a high calibre of entrants this year, with Glenn and Georgie standing out with their true grasp of what they want to achieve and how they are going to progress to be in the top 20% of operators in the dairy industry.
“Glenn and Georgie have a good understanding of data, they don’t look at data in isolation, and showed how this system could help them achieve better results. They are also up for a challenge in their new venture and this CowManager system will help to alleviate some of that pressure.”
Karl and Jess Wood from Manawatū placed third in the National Share Farmer of the Year.
Karl, 31, and Jess, 33, are 50/50 sharemilking 230 cows on 85ha for John Gardner in Palmerston North.
The judges said Karl’s passion for cows was evident and he was very articulate around his breeding plan.
It was clear Karl and Jess had respect for the farm they were looking after, and caring for the land and their employer’s wider farm business was a high priority.
Karl and Jess won over $9,000 in prizes along with two merit awards; the LIC Animal Wellbeing, Recording & Productivity Award and the Novonesis Excellence Interview & Communication Award.
The LIC award includes a GeneMark Genomics prize for Karl and Jess to DNA test of all the dams and replacement animals in their herd.
2026 Dairy Manager of the Year
Lauren McConnachie from Canterbury/North Otago was named the 2026 Dairy Manager of the Year.
The 35-year-old is Rob and Jenine Screen’s farm manager for Theland Farm Group at Purata, milking 2170 cows on 563ha.
Lauren won over $15,000 in prizes along with taking home the Fonterra Dairy Management Award and the Ecolab Environmental Sustainability Award.
The judges said Lauren had extremely strong theoretical knowledge, was very organised and brought a structured approach to her planning and farm management.
“Lauren scored consistently across the board. She’s operating at scale, managing multiple people and she’s able to convert the complex into simple steps for her team.”
Lauren has identified areas to work on and she is actively upskilling in personal development – leadership is a good example of that.
“She’s really aware of areas she wants to grow and how to help her team grow.”
Runner-up in the Dairy Manager of the Year is Taranaki’s Miriam Lauridsen.
The 29-year-old is pasture, forage and herd manager for Liam O’Sullivan at New Plymouth, milking 370 cows on 137ha.
The judges were impressed with Miriam’s personal planning and awareness of her progression in the dairy industry.
Her dedication to her team on farm also shone through, along with her ability to communicate.
“Miriam has a lot of passion and she has strived to make it the best working environment for her team – that was very evident.”
Miriam won over $8,000 in prizes along with taking home three merit awards, including the Craigmore Farming & Safer Farms Health & Safety Award, DeLaval Sustainable Pasture Award and the Personal Planning & Financial Management Award.
Waikato’s Annie Gill placed third in the Dairy Manager of the Year, taking home $5,000 and pocketing the DairyNZ People & Leadership Award.
The 24-year-old is farm manager for Doug and Lorraine Courtman on their 56ha farm at Ōtorohanga milking 144 cows.
The judges were impressed with Annie’s passion for her pedigree cows along with her involvement in the industry outside the farm gate.
Bay of Plenty’s Reno Moses won the CowManager Livestock Management Award and Adrian Waugh from Manawatū won the LIC Interview Award.
The judges noted overall the Dairy Manager finalists were a strong group of people in their early years of management who the industry could rally around and support.
“There is an awesome group of managers coming through for the wider industry to throw some mentors at.”
2026 Dairy Trainee of the Year
Mark Ready from the West Coast/Top of the South has won the title of 2026 Dairy Trainee of the Year along with over $10,000 in prizes.
The 23-year-old is farm manager for Michael Shearer on the Inch Family’s 130ha farm at Maruia milking 250 cows.
Previously entering the Dairy Industry Awards had been a catalyst for Mark to set himself goals and the judges were highly impressed with Mark’s planning and progress.
He has managed to save and buy his first line of cows which will enter the herd this year and has set himself a timeline to achieve herd ownership.
“We absolutely believe he will achieve that. Mark set himself a plan and he’s implementing it and we look forward to his progress going forward.
“He’s surrounded himself with good employers and has made strong relationships – he’s not going to be easily knocked down.”
Mark also won the Ecolab Personal Growth & Development Award.
A very close runner-up in the Dairy Trainee of the Year was Sam O’Neill from Canterbury/North Otago who won $6,000 along with the Federated Farmers Farming Knowledge Award and The Country Communication & Industry Involvement Award.
Sam, 23, is herd manager for Trevor Manson, milking 850 cows on 231ha and has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, with First Class Honours from Lincoln University.
The judges said his knowledge across the board was impressive, and he also had great charisma and rapport.
“Sam has sound intellectual knowledge and he really made the most of the networking opportunity of the Study Tour.
“Sam O’Neill is going to be a name that we see keep popping up in the future. We look forward to watching his progress.”
Conor Attrill-Mundt from the Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa placed third in the Dairy Trainee of the Year and went home with $3,000.
Conor, 23, is 2IC for Greg and Gail Mitchell at Patoka, milking 845 cows on 341ha.
The judges said Conor has excellent industry awareness from exports to economics and a real focus on sustainability, which was impressive for someone so young.
2026 ASB Alumni of the Year Award
Alvaro Luzardo and Ximena Puig from Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa won the 2026 ASB Alumni of the Year award.
The couple are sharemilking 465 cows for Geoff Arends and Ester Romp in Eketāhuna.
Originally from Uruguay, the judges noted Alvaro and Ximena arrived in New Zealand in 2015 with a backpack and minimal English skills and are an exceptional example of what can be achieved in the dairy industry.
“Their story can be repeated by any Kiwi – this is the land of opportunity. They haven’t been blinkered by geography or perceived barriers and have been open to opportunities anywhere in New Zealand.”
Their involvement with the Dairy Industry Awards has been a key part of their progression and building relationships in New Zealand.
“They’ve managed to build a network of people and grab gold nuggets from everyone. They want to inspire people and their ethos is to ‘Make It Happen’ and they have certainly demonstrated that.”
This award is a collaboration between ASB and NZDIA to specifically encourage and reward NZDIA Alumni who have made significant contributions to the programme and the industry.
The ASB Alumni of the Year Award is open to NZDIA Alumni who have been entrants in the past seven years and are no longer eligible to enter the Dairy Manager of the Year or Share Farmer of the Year categories.
2026 Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award
Judges were blown away by the six finalists in this year’s Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award and said they were an example to everyone of what can be achieved in the dairy industry.
“All of the finalists are first-generation farmers with no family farm backing and they are all on the verge of being able to buy their own dairy farm.”
The 2026 Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award winners are Johno & Tania Burrows, and Jonathon & Stacey Hoets, both from Canterbury/North Otago, and Marc & Nia Jones from Waikato.
The winners were able to show how they had built their equity from zero, how close they were to a farm purchase and how winning the award would help them in their next step.
The judges said it was an extremely difficult decision to split the finalists and encouraged them to give it another crack next year.
The Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award (FFA) is a collaboration between ASB, Fonterra and the NZDIA Trust, which aims to remove barriers to farm ownership by offering to help the best in the industry successfully transition into farm ownership, ensuring good succession to ownership and the future of the dairy industry.
Each winner receives up to $1 million of ASB Business Term Lending fixed at 1% per annum for three years, along with a Fonterra launch package that includes $20,000 of Farm Source account credit to drive productivity and sustainability, mentoring, and additional support to help them successfully transition into ownership.
2026 Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award
Tony Dodunski from Canterbury/North Otago won the Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award.
Beaumaris Dairies is located in the environmentally sensitive Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora catchment, and the judges cited Tony’s outstanding leadership in delivering responsible dairying outcomes on farm, while also making a significant and sustained contribution to the wider New Zealand dairy industry.
“Tony has demonstrated that high environmental performance can be achieved through deliberate system design, evidence-based decision-making, and long-term commitment.
His work exemplifies responsible dairying in action: delivering verified environmental outcomes, building capable and motivated people, and strengthening the long-term sustainability of the dairy sector.”
MAJOR WINNERS AND PLACEGETTERS AND MERIT AWARD WINNERS
2026 SHARE FARMER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Scott and Stacey Mackereth
Runner-up: Glenn and Georgie van Heuven
Third: Karl and Jess Wood
2026 DAIRY MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Lauren McConnachie
Runner-up: Miriam Lauridsen
Third: Annie Gill
2026 DAIRY TRAINEE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Mark Ready
Runner-up: Sam O’Neill
Third: Conor Attrill-Mundt
2026 FONTERRA RESPONSIBLE DAIRYING AWARD
Tony Dodunski from Canterbury/North Otago
2026 ASB ALUMNI OF THE YEAR AWARD
Winner: Alvaro Luzardo and Ximena Puig - Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa
2026 FONTERRA & ASB FIRST FARM AWARD (there are three equal winners)
Johno and Tania Burrows
Jonathon and Stacey Hoets
Marc and Nia Jones
2026 SHARE FARMER OF THE YEAR MERIT AWARDS
DairyNZ People & Culture Award - Scott and Stacey Mackereth
Ecolab Total Farm Hygiene & Innovation Award - Olivia Sutton and Craig Dobbe
Federated Farmers Leadership Award - Scott and Stacey Mackereth
Honda Farm Safety, Health & Biosecurity Award - Olivia Sutton and Craig Dobbe
LIC Animal Wellbeing, Recording and Productivity Award - Karl and Jess Wood
Power Farming Environmental Sustainability Award - Olivia Sutton and Craig Dobbe
Trelleborg Sustainable Pasture Award - Scott and Stacey Mackereth
ASB Business Performance Award - Glenn and Georgie van Heuven
Novonesis Excellence Interview & Communication Award - Karl and Jess Wood
CowManager Experience Award - Glenn and Georgie van Heuven
2026 DAIRY MANAGER OF THE YEAR MERIT AWARDS
DairyNZ People & Leadership Award - Annie Gill
CowManager Livestock Management Award - Reno Moses
Fonterra Dairy Management Award - Lauren McConnachie
LIC Interview Award - Adrian Waugh
Craigmore Farming & Safer Farms Health & Safety Award - Miriam Lauridsen
Ecolab Environmental Sustainability Award - Lauren McConnachie
DeLaval Sustainable Pasture Award - Miriam Lauridsen
BlackmanSpargo Rural Law Personal Planning & Financial Management Award - Miriam Lauridsen
2026 DAIRY TRAINEE OF THE YEAR MERIT AWARDS
Best Video Award – Taylor Alty
DairyNZ Practical Skills Award – Jack Foster
The Country Communication & Industry Involvement Award - Sam O’Neill
Federated Farmers Farming Knowledge Award – Sam O’Neill
Ecolab Personal Growth & Development Award - Mark Ready
