16 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Sam Dodd and Belinda Wilson Mentors ‘set me up for bigger & better things’ Sam started his farming career in 2017 on his mum’s family farm at Matamata. Kelly Deeks Te Awamutu dairy farmer Sam Dodd has his focus firmly fixed on the future of the dairy industry as aims to recreate for his team the learning opportunities he was afforded in his early days in the industry. “They should aiming to be move up, or move on,” Sam says. “I’m lucky to have had really good employers and really good role models throughout my career so far. I came form the city with no experience, and was actually afraid of cows when I first started. But everyone I’ve worked for has allowed me a chance to grow and progress. They have set me up for bigger and better things.” Sam started his farming career in 2017 on his mum’s family farm at Matamata, where he worked for six weeks under contracting milker Mark Jeans. The farm’s vet referred Sam to Rhys and Tamara Parry for a farm assistant position in Taranaki, and they helped him achieve a 2IC position on the Joyce family farm, also in Taranaki. There, under manager Hermez Javier-Siffer, Sam was set up for success at the Dairy Industry Awards, placing third in the Dairy Trainee of the Year category of the Waikato Dairy Industry Awards in 2018, coming second in 2019, and securing the title in 2020. This position also provided a stepping stone to Sam’s next 2IC position on Belinda Wilson’s Mangahana Farm, working under contract milker Michael Parkes and when Michael decided to step away from the dairy industry in 2022, Sam was in the right place at the right time with the right skills and approach to take over the manager’s position. He won the Waikato Dairy Manager of the Year award and four merit awards in 2023. “The experience I have had of this industry, I feel like that should be the case for others. I have a vested interest in the future of my industry and my staff, so if I can get 15 people trained up properly and put them out to the industry, that’s 15 more than there were before. That’s pretty important to me.” Training happens every day at Mangahana. Everyone in the team has different skills and different interests, so Sam works hard to make sure they are getting variety in their workdays as well as opportunities to upskill and develop their areas of interest. “Someone might need more time on the tractor feeding out, or they might be really interested in agronomy. Whatever they want to do, me and my 2IC Brad try to play a big role in adding value to their experience of the industry. We want to create a positive experience for them, and give them the skills that their potential future employers want to see.” Sam is committed to creating good staff for the industry and while he naturally wants to retain good staff, he doesn’t want to keep them longer than he should if they need to be moving on to progress. “It’s a revolving door thing. If you want to upskill, you need to be moving up so you can move on.”
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