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Dairy Trainee of the Year

Further Information

Skills Day Judging

  • 6 Hands on Practical Challenges. Tasks will be made up from a variety of levels.

  • General Knowledge Task.

  • Fun Task.

  • ­From here Six entrants will progress to the finals round. All entrants will receive hands on Practical Feedback at the conclusion of each Practical Challenge and at the conclusion of all Skills Day judging will receive a Feedback Graph.

Finals Interview

  • A 30-minute interview, plus all finalists will be required to present a CV to the Interview Judges.

  • Entrants will receive written feedback for this round of Judging.

  • Regional Winners then progress to the National Final and in May of each year, they are judged by a national judging team to determine the national winner and placegetters.

Further information in the Judging Criteria (pdf). The criteria will assist you to get your preparation for judging underway.

Some of the things to consider in your interview:

Career Development

  • In this section the judges would like to hear about your current and future dairy farming career including any training you are undertaking or planning to undertake, your goals and your involvement in the industry.

  • If you are a finalist, you will be required to bring your CV to the final round of judging.

Personal Development

In this section our judges would like to hear about your personal interests and community involvement off farm.

Industry Awareness

This section tests your awareness of our industry, nothing too technical, but some knowledge of things farming outside your own gate is important.

General Farming Knowledge

Questions in this section will test your understanding of the following categories:

  • Dairy Shed Hygiene

  • Animal Health

  • Calving & Mating Management

  • Environment

  • Health & Safety

  • Feed Allocation & Feed Budgeting

Communication & Engagement

In this section it is all about how you answer questions put to you, your ability to talk about a subject and your presentation (dress as you would for a job interview). The judges do understand the interview is probably outside your comfort zone, but try to relax and let the real you shine through.

National Video Presentation

We require National Finalists to produce a three to five (3-5) minute video that reflects your life and who you are. This video should include:

  • Aspects you enjoy about farming,

  • your life outside of farming,

  • your career goals,

  • and if there is time, perhaps a farming topic of interest to you or anything else you think is important to showcase to the judges.

It is up to you to decide exactly what to put in the video; we have not set out specific criteria because we want to see individuality shine through.

The video will be viewed and marked by the national judges prior to your interview.

You will need to shoot the footage for your video. We will send you an upload link in due course.

We look forward to receiving your video.

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