| 7 nzdairy DAIRY INDUSTRY AWARDS » Elegant Peak Dairies Roshan grateful for every opportunity Randall Johnston Hawera-based Roshan Jayadheera won third place in the Share Farmer of the Year Award for the Taranaki Region at the 2025 NZ Dairy Industry Awards. The first-time entrant and Sri Lankan national has been farming in New Zealand for 11 years now and scored very highly for health and safety; bio-security; financial goal-setting; training and development-engagement and leadership; and people and culture. “Bio-security is clearly your passion. We were impressed by your stock sequestration policies,” judges commented. “You have clear goals and there is evidence of you achieving one of them (purchasing the first home) very quickly which is impressive. It’s good to see a strong team of rural professionals around you. “We commend you on taking on the training opportunities locally to up-skill yourselves and your team.” His first role was as a farm assistant in Invercargill and he has worked his way up the ladder from there, soaking up as much knowledge as possible along the way. He had heard about the Dairy Industry Awards a lot, but had been too busy in previous years to enter. “I’ve learnt a lot more about the whole picture and business of farming since becoming a contract milker, so I felt like the time was right to give it a shot,” Roshan explains. “The competition really helped us to see what our strengths are and what aspects of the operation that potentially need more attention.” Roshan was a bit unsure after the first round of the competition, although he knew all the material - he wasn’t happy with how he communicated it. Thankfully, he really did his homework and came back strong in the second round to give a much more thorough and polished presentation of his farm operation. Previous to this role, he was managing a dairy farm in Canterbury for a number of years. He was looking for a 3-500 cow operation, preferably in another part of New Zealand when he saw his current role advertised. Now on his third season contract milking on an 112ha, 400 Friesian-Jersey cross cow farm that is owned by Wayne Robinson, Roshan is loving the job. “It’s mostly flat with some rolling hills, so that’s makes things more manageable than some other farms that I have worked on,” he explains. They made the transition from Jersey to a Friesian-Jersey cross to increase milk production but not pure Friesian, because the land holds a lot of water and the pasture is easily damaged by large animals. They starts milking once a day in August which allows more time to address animal welfare and other on-farm issues that need addressing. His wife Chamari assists him with relief-milking, calf-rearing and documentation as well as looking after their two daughters Rylie, 8, and Cindy, 4. Both Roshan and Chamari are Agriculture Graduates from University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka and they use that The first-time entrant and Sri Lankan national has been farming in New Zealand for 11 years now. knowledge to take their business to next level. With this award under his belt, Roshan has been encouraged to learn even more and work on the areas of farming that he feels are not his major strengths and become an even more well-rounder operator in 2026 and beyond. Partnering with you to help make business easier. Quality Business Advice – We’re here to help. When it comes to advisory services, business accounting, tax advice, farming and rural accounting you need an accountant that has the experience and skills to ensure not only the best tax outcomes but the best support for your business. We are proud to support Roshan and Chamari. Congratulations on your award! (03) 687 9045 | samh@compassbp.co.nz | www.compassbp.co.nz | PO Box 529, Timaru 7910 48 Railway Street, Eltham 06 764 8196 PROUD TO SUPPORT ELEGANT PEAK DAIRIES
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