12 | nzdairy DAIRY AWARDS » Amber & Fraser Carpenter Awards Chair blown away by calibre of Richard Loader Absolutely wowed every year by the calibre of entrants in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, Chair Amber Carpenter just wishes the wider New Zealand community could see and feel the care, love and passion that dairy farmers bring to what they do. “I feel so grateful to sit in the same room as the entrants,” says Amber. “We get to go down to Nationals to meet them and they really inspire me. Just to hear what people are doing on farms, how much they give back, the care and love they have for the animals and the environment, planting and caring for the waterways, what they’re doing about animal health and their people. Every single year, these people blow me away. “Looking at that group of people it’s, damn, we’re good. We have amazing people, forward thinkers, number eight wire innovators. Our land and our industry is in bloody good hands.” Amber particularly enjoys the Dairy Trainee of the Year category, saying the entrants are so much fun and fresh with the joys of spring. “Peter O’Connor, the award winner is a generational dairy farmer from New Zealand and an incredible guy, so smart. “Then you have Thomas Lundman who came second. Two years ago he had never been dairy farming. “He came from tourism and to see what he has achieved in two years and the passion he has for the industry is awesome. Then third place getter Zoe Bryson, a dairy farmer from Scotland, has taken on the New Zealand lifestyle, loves it and doesn’t want to leave. So you can literally have anyone from any walk of life and with the support of people within the dairy industry community they can grow to become incredible dairy farmers. But the bottom line is that they are genuinely amazing people.” Amber and her husband Fraser are past winners of the Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmer of the Year award, and have been involved in the dairy industry awards for the last few years, giving back to the industry that has been good to them. This is Amber’s third season as Chair of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards. Brought up a city girl in Auckland, Amber completed an Arts and Design degree, majoring in fashion, spending her career in the demanding corporate world. When she and Fraser rst went sharemilking several years ago Amber was working as the Merchandising Manager for the ‘Cotton On’ brand, while balancing her time doing the farm’s administration work. “Having the ability within the dairy sector to use those leadership skills in a wider sense, really inspired me to take on the Chair’s role. “I had skills from my background that I wanted to use and that I enjoy doing, and I felt the dairy industry awards was a place where I could be useful. “ I was also inspired by watching other people’s pathways, like Rachel Baker and Gavin Roden who Amber and Fraser Carpenter are past winners of the Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmer of the Year award, and have been involved in the dairy industry awards for the last few years. Ethan Parker 027 312 3985 SERVICES INCLUDING: Hedge Cutting • Roadside Mowing • Full Ground Cultivation • Effluent Spreading Fertiliser & Manure Spreading • Spraying Under Sowing • Power Harrow Seeding Direct Drilling • Maize and Grass Silage
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