28 | nzdairy DAIRY AWARDS » Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo Uruaguayan couple make most of NZ adventure Aimee Wilson A Uruguayan couple love sharemilking in New Zealand so much that their dedication to the industry earned them a spot in the national Share Farmers of the Year awards. Alvaro Luzardo and Ximena Puig were named the 2024 Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa Dairy Share Farmers of the Year and went on to represent their province in Queenstown in May. The husband and wife are currently 50/50 sharemilkers on Geoff Arends and Ester Romp’s 164ha, 480-cow Eketahuna property, and originally farmed in Canterbury before their move north. Alvaro was backpacking around New Zealand in 2013 before settling in Ashburton, and was reluctant to leave his farming job when it was time to continue travelling, with all of the opportunities that it provided. “After five months I just loved New Zealand. It was such an adventure,” Alvaro said. He returned to New Zealand in 2015 and convinced his partner Ximena to join him – now Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo are the 2024 Hawke’s Bay / Wairarapa Dairy Share Farmers of the Year. The couple went on to represent their province at the national awards in Queenstown. proving six years on just how much of a formidable team there are. They married in 2023. The first-time entrants decided to enter the sharemilking awards to meet new people and learn from the experience. Alvaro and Ximena believe their success in the competition came from putting a lot of work into their presentation, sharing the way they organise their share milking operation, through efficient systems and records. The industry had been good to them in terms of mentors and support, and it was nice to now be able to help others coming through, they said. “The industry has moved forward a lot in terms of being able to have a lifestyle,” Alvaro said. Growing up in a city of 40,000 in Uruguay, his Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering degree is similar to an NZ agricultural science qualification. Alvaro has also achieved PrimaryITO Levels 4 and 5. Ximena holds a Bachelor of Architecture and grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay. She works as an architectural designer from home, and makes it work with the farm. The couple believe New Zealand has unique conditions to supply high-quality products to the world, and have been impressed with how far ahead the country is, compared to back home. There were also plenty of opportunities for young people to progress forward from farm assistant to farm ownership, something the couple was working towards themselves. But first they intend to grow their herd and become bigger share milkers, and they recently changed the way they did business – switching to three milkings over two days. “It saves water, power and the cows walk less, plus it’s a better lifestyle for everyone.” They make sure staff all have a good lunch break after a busy early morning milking, and on days when there was only one milking, they start a bit later. In their farming community, neighbours all help each other and there is plenty of socialising as well. They encourage their new staff to immerse themselves in the community, particularly when English was not their first language. PH. 06 376 7181 MOB. 0274 778036 Specialising in livestock cartage & general freight transport in the lower North Island region 61 Short Road, Pahiatua, New Zealand, 4982 brandfmurdoch@xtra.co.nz Congratulations to Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo on winning Share Farmers of the Year 2024 Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa Dairy Industry Awards RJM CONTRACTING Culverts | Farm tracks, races & dams | Trenching | House sites and concrete preparations Got something out of the ordinary? No probs just give us a call and we’ll see that we can do! - Servicing the Tararua region - Ryan McNicol 021508856
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