36 | nzdairy DAIRY AWARDS » Caleb Spence: Roaring View Farms Awards a revelation for top trainee 2023 Bay of Plenty Dairy Trainee of the Year Caleb Spence hadn’t even heard of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards until the farm owners he works for, David and Corina Niven, encouraged him to enter. “I’d only been farming for about a year so I had no idea of how I was doing so winning has given me a lot of confidence,” says Caleb. Caleb didn’t grow up on a farm but he did grow up around animals because his father is a veterinarian. Caleb’s first ambition was to follow in his father’s footsteps but when he didn’t make the cut for veterinarian school he decided to get a job on a friend’s farm and hasn’t looked back. Karen Phelps Caleb didn’t grow up on a farm but he did grow up around animals because his father is a veterinarian. Licenced NZMPTA ISO milking machine testers WE SPECIALISE IN: ON SITE WORKING WITH YOU Dairy plant Installation, Upgrades & Maintenance. Dairy e uent, Design, Installation & Maintenance. Water & Pumping systems, Design, Installation & Maintenance. 11 Te Tahi Street, Whakatane Phone: 07 307 0704 Email: o ce@milkingandwater.co.nz AUTHORISED DEALER OF Proud to support Roaring View Farm 0800 100 123 | ravensdown.co.nz He started working for the Nivens in September 2021 as a farm hand on their 115ha, 255-cow property at Galatea,and is now in his second season progressing to a herd manager position. Caleb works alongside David and Corinaon a daily basis and credits the Nivens’ help and training for the fact he won the I.S Dam Lining Farming Knowledge Award. Caleb is part way through completing his Primary ITO New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture (Dairy Farming) Level 3 qualification.“The Nivens trained me to be where I am and have allowed me the space to put my knowledge to work and learn from my mistakes. I enjoy it because it’s practical learning and I didn’t do so well with classroom learning.“My dad being a vet meant I’d been involved with animal health “Every day is different as there are so many diverse jobs on a farm; giving remedies to animals, managing the effluent, plant health, looking after the environment etc” my whole childhood so that was also helpful in winning the merit award,” he says. Caleb loves the diversity his job brings, which on a typical day will see him milk with the Nivens in the morning then afterwards decide what jobs they will do for the day. This might see Caleb working alone or tackling a larger job with the Nivens. This season he will get involved in pasture management, which he is looking forward to. “Every day is different as there are so many diverse jobs on a farm – giving remedies to animals, managing the effluent, plant health, looking after the environment etc.” Caleb says he has learned early on in his career that work-life balance is important: “For me that means putting in place things I want to do on my days off, something outside the farm that I enjoy and is just for me. Then I have something to look forward to because farming has its rough days as well. It might be tramping, hunting, a run in the bush or working with my horse. This takes my mind off work so I can come back refreshed.” His next aim is farm management and his overall goal farm ownership, whether that is dairy or sheep and beef. He says the awards process made him set goals to bring him closer to his dream. Another of the highlights was the networking opportunity the awards opened up adding to his understanding of the industry. “Dairy farming is not what people perceive it to be. I’d encourage people to meet their local farmers because you don’t know what it’s all about until then. “ A lot of farmers are doing amazing work and not a lot of that gets acknowledged.”
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