NZ Dairy Winter 2021

54 | nz dairy DAIRY AWARDS » Dinuka & Nadeeka Gamage Leadership a strong Karen Phelps We are proud to be the preferred supplier of irrigation equipment for South Ealing Dairy. Ray Mayne Hose and Fittings and Reinke working together to provide the ultimate solution for your irrigation requirements New Zealand Certified Builders Association CB Construction LTD - New Builds - Additions - Alterations - Farm Buildings Pleased to be associated with South Ealing Dairy. • Concrete • Fertiliser Spreading - Farm Mapping - GPS Tracking - Varible Rate Spreading • Livestock Cartage • Grain Cartage • Shingle Supplies • Daily Freight Leeston: 03 3248 070 Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz D inuka and Nadeeka Gamage were not expect- ing to take out the top prize when they en- tered the Share Farmer of the Year category in the Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards but say it was great recognition of all the hard work they have put in over the years. The couple, which had previously been third place winners in the Dairy Manager of the Year sec- tion of the 2016 awards for the same region, also took out the 2021 Federated Farmers Leadership and Westpac Business Performance merit awards. It’s the second time they’ve won a leadership award at the competition and strong leadership was shown as they encourage staff to better them- selves and further their careers and also take an active part in the local community mentoring new migrants to the region, some of whom are now staff members. “Nadeeka provides free food for two weeks for new migrant workers who arrive to the farm. We help them understand the New Zealand farming system and settle in,” says Dinuka. The Ashburton couple are in their fifth season contract milking 980 crossbreed cows on a 245ha farm owned by Dairy Holdings Ltd. They say their aim is to grow their farming business while protect- ing the environment through sustainable farming. They operate a pasture-based system with no sup- plement used. This means pasture is a major focus for them with weekly farm walks completed and re-grassing 10% each year. They have extended their effluent area from 50ha to 70ha to reduce their reliance on urea and have double fenced waterways. The Gamages are constantly looking to improve and learn. Dinuka holds New Zealand diplomas in agribusiness management and also a national “Nadeeka provides free food for two weeks for new migrant workers who arrive to the farm.” Canterbury/North Otago Share Farmer of the Year winners and Dinuka and Nadeeka Gamage with sons Thejan (10) and Anu Gamage (15). Dinuka feeding cows fodder beet at a wintering block. diploma in technology agriculture engineering and post-graduate diploma in marketing from Sri Lanka. He has also achieved PrimaryITO Level 5 Production Management and Level 4 Dairy Farming and Biz Start from DairyNZ. Nadeeka holds the NZ Certificate in ECCE. Both work full time on the farm with Nadeeka taking care of calf rearing and the farm administra- tion work. They employ three full time staff. Dinuka hails from Ampara, the eastern part of Sri Lanka, where he worked on dairy farms for two years before seeking his fortune in New Zealand in 2008. Starting on an 800-cow farm in Kaikoura in an assistant herd manager position he says the biggest change from farming in Sri Lanka was the sheer size of the operation (in Sri Lanka farms are generally smaller scale with 300 cows considered a large unit). A year later he moved to a position as farm manager on unit at Culverden milking a herd of 970 predominantly friesian cows. He spent seven seasons on the unit before moving to the Dairy Holdings farm. Dinuka and Nadeeka have two children: Anuhas, 15 and Thejan, 10. Agriculture has always been their career of choice and Dinuka says that they both love working outside with animals and nature. Their aim is to go 50:50 share milking and they are currently building up stock numbers by rearing extra heifer calves each year, something Dairy Hold- ings is supportive of. Long term they would love to own a farm.