56 | nzdairy Award winners take on team leader role Ricky and Maria Johnson have taken on the team-leader role 2024 West Coast Top of the South Awards Share-Farmer section. Virginia Wright When Ricky and Maria Johnson entered the 2023 West Coast Top of the South Dairy Industry Awards, which covers the Nelson, Marlborough, Tasman and West Coast regions, it was because they knew good advice didn’t come cheaply, not because they had any expectation of winning. They hoped that the process of going through the awards would help them get a better idea of where they could go and how to get there. Not only did it do exactly that but to their complete surprise they won their Sharemilker section. For them that was an unexpected bonus as they now feel more secure about the path they’re on and that it will lead them to the small farm ownership that is their goal. With their win came the sense of responsibility which led to them saying yes to the team-leader role for the 2024 West Coast Top of the South Awards Share-Farmer section. DAIRY PEOPLE » Ricky and Maria Johnson The name change from Sharemilker to Share-Farmer reflects what’s happening on dairy farms around the country. “We’ve got 10 entrants and that includes share-milkers, contract-milkers, a leasee and an equity partner,” says Maria. “They’re all employing staff and have some type of machinery and costs involved, and they’re paid off milk production whether it’s a percentage or a dollar value.” While they’re both team leaders Ricky’s the first to acknowledge that Maria’s doing most of the work, although he’s a willing helper whenever he’s asked. The area they cover is vast. It runs from Fox through to Karamea for the West Coast then across to Tapawera and Rai Valley, and north to Golden Bay. “Logistically it’s tough as we make sure the people we’ve encouraged to enter put in all the material at the times they have to have it in. Then at the moment we’re finding suitable judges for the awards team,” says Maria. Two judging teams of two will judge five farms each before coming together to discuss which five farms will become finalists, and care is taken to ensure the judges have no personal connections with any of the farmers to avoid conflict of interest. While some enter to win many enter for the same reasons that Maria and Ricky did. “Lots of people enter like we did, where it’s about the process. It’s about having a really good look at your business and getting some really good feedback from other farmers, as in the judges. Whether you go through to the final or not you still get that feedback which is really important,”explains Maria She also thinks that a change of rules that came in last year was an essential part of the Johnson’s win. For the first time judges were allowed to ask questions to make sure they understood what the entrant was trying to show them. It meant that you didn’t have to be good at public speaking to get your story across. Maria believes the change is really helpful especially for your average farmer in her district who might not be a people person and is unlikely to have a farm manager to put the story across. “Lots of farmers aren’t that confident so it’s a lot more farmer oriented now that the judges can ask questions. It worked for us because Ricky wouldn’t have wanted to talk much but it’s quite easy to get a farmer talking if you ask him about his farm isn’t it,” says Maria with a smile. With Maria and Ricky helping them through, this year’s award process should make a winner of everyone whether they reach the finals or not. “We’ve got 10 entrants and that includes share-milkers, contract-milkers, a leasee and an equity partner.” Alexanders are proud to support Ricky & Maria Johnson
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