| 85 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Owl Farm: St Peters School Jo with Frankie in the race. Introducing youth to the dairy industry Randall Johnston Pirongia-based Jo Sheridan has won the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year Award, primarily for her work on Owl Farm; a joint venture between St Peter’s School Cambridge and Lincoln University. Owl Farm Demonstration Manager Jo says the award was the culmination of many years of work in her role and a variety of other projects and was presented to her at the 2025 Dairy Women’s Network Conference in Hamilton this May. The award celebrates women who demonstrate leadership and a commitment to the dairy industry and she is the 13th recipient. “I have the ability to help, support and connect students and youth into the food and fibre sector, which is something that I am very passionate about,” Jo says. It’s great to see them learning about how the technology is integrated on the farm, environmental and animal welfare and the importance of sustainability. It’s a win-win, because we get to showcase this (best practice) to the community and the students get to learn in a really practical, hands-on way.” The food and fibre sector contributes up to 80 per cent of New Zealand’s merchandise export earnings, contributes 11 percent of GDP and employs 15 per cent of Kiwi’s nationwide (up to 33 per cent in some areas), so it’s vital that New Zealand youth are given such opportunities to contribute and learn more about the industry. DWN Trustee and Lead Judge Jenna Smith commented on Jo’s high energy, broad perspective and a strong dedication to improving conditions for individuals, animals and the future of agriculture. “She doesn’t just talk about change; she rolls up her sleeves and makes it happen. Jo is tackling complex industry challenges while passionately championing and empowering young people and innovation. She is a humble and generous leader, showcasing courage, clarity, and heart,” Jenna explains. Anne Douglas, Fonterra’s Group Director for Farm Source was also part of the judging panel and said Jo is clearly a passionate and visionary leader who has proven to have a significant positive impact on stakeholders, partners, communities and farmers. “It’s clear that she adopts a holistic approach, with a clear focus on sustainability and desire to empower others – especially young people. Jo’s authenticity and strategic leadership extends beyond the dairy industry into broader communities,” Anne says. In addition to her day to day role, Jo is involved in governance, sitting on school boards and industry committees. Her leadership, innovation and mentorship have made her a key player in transforming New Zealand’s dairy industry. Having grown up on a dairy farm in South Taranaki, she gained a strong appreciation for agriculture and later obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Soil Science from Massey University. With more than 24 years of experience, Jo has held various positions at DairyNZ accumulating a vast body of knowledge on relevant research and best practice, and worked as an independent industry consultant. Jo manages demonstrations on the 140ha, 370 cow dairy farm located behind St Peter’s School Cambridge, near the banks of the Waikato River. Owl Farm is a commercial project of St Peter’s School, where young people can step right onto the farm and experience dairy farming up close. The farm also hosts regular visitor days, making it highly accessible to the entire community. They also (in conjunction with Lincoln University) host a series of secondary school events around dairy sustainability. “Students from the Waikato and BoP regions come in and learn about food and fibre careers and get to do lots of hands-on activities on the farm. We also run events for farmers and rural professionals where we share our experiences, partnership knowledge and we publish a whole lot of data through our social media channels. As a platform; it’s a really wonderful asset that our wider community has, that helps to support dairy farming in the Waikato,” Jo explains. Because every day is effectively an open day and there is so much activity on farm, Jo has made health and safety a real focus over the last six years. “Our partnerships are really important too, so partnering with people who have the expertise and knowledge to provide ongoing learning opportunities has been huge and a major focus too.” For example, they had a focus day in May where Jo Faber from Westpac explained the effects of tariffs and their impact on the New Zealand dairy industry. “We also shared our experience going through the sustainable finance loan audit process and the value of becoming accredited,” Jo explains. Other examples include PGG Wrightson Seeds agronomy experts sharing technical expertise around forages, and Ravensdown analysing soil nutrient needs to achieve home grown forage aspirations. Jo has now been awarded a scholarship to participate in the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme. This scholarship includes coverage for the programme fee, travel and accommodation expenses and mentoring.“It’s a real honour for me to be recognised in this way. One of our strategic objectives at Owl Farm is to provide educational opportunities to students, so to be acknowledged for the work that we do is fantastic.” Jo with her Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year Award.
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