76 | nzdairy New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards » Theland Purata Emma Bailey It was third time lucky for Lauren McConnachie when she took out the Dairy Manager of the Year at this year’s New Zealand Dairy Awards for the Canterbury and North Otago regions and she has gone on to win the national title. Her win was announced at the New Zealand Dairy Awards in Rotorua in May. Lauren won over $15,000 in prizes along with taking home the Fonterra Dairy Management Award and the Ecolab Environmental Sustainability Award. The 35-year-old is Rob and Jenine Screen’s farm manager at Robindale, near Rakaia milking 2170 cows on 563ha. The win comes on the back of being runner up last year in the Canterbury and North Otago category and placing third in 2024. She’s pleased she made the decision to have a final tilt at the top spot. “It has been a wild and unbelievable time so far I’m still getting my head around it all. “I was very honoured to receive the Fonterra Dairy Management Award. On a farm of this scale, strong management, organisation and communication are essential to keeping everything running smoothly and efficiently. Over the years at Robindale, I believe these are areas I have continued to develop and they have highlighted for me the strong connection between effective day-to-day management and overall business performance. “I would also like to acknowledge the entire team, especially Kevin and Armrat, who play a key role in helping manage each side of the farm and maintaining the high standards we set together. I am also very grateful to Rob and Jenine Screen for giving me the opportunity and freedom to trial new ideas, evaluate their impact on the farm’s success, and continue growing and developing in this area. “I was well stoked with the win, persistence definitely paid off. I wasn’t going to do it this year because we had a bit going on but then I thought this will be the last time I will be able to enter as a dairy manager.” By a bit going on she means she is pregnant and due early August, a month after her and partner Richard Gould move to a new farm Lowcliff in Hinds to begin a contract milking role. The judges said Lauren had extremely strong theoretical knowledge, was very organised and brought a structured approach to her planning and farm management. “Lauren scored consistently across the board. She’s operating at scale, managing multiple people and she’s able to convert the complex into simple steps for her team.” “She’s really aware of areas she wants to grow and how to help her team grow.” She enjoyed the feedback she got from the rounds of judging. “I am a very introverted person so it challenges me to put myself out there. I’m a little bit disappointed I won’t be able to do it next year but I’m going to be pretty busy with a baby.” Big job milking 2170 cows on 563ha New Zealand Dairy Awards Dairy Manager of the Year for the Canterbury and North Otago regions: Lauren McConnachie. “Lauren scored consistently across the board. She’s operating at scale, managing multiple people and able to convert the complex into simple steps for her team.” FERTILISER SPREADING | FARM MAPPING GPS TRACKING | VARIABLE RATE SPREADING LIVESTOCK CARTAGE | DAILY FREIGHT CONCRETE SUPPLIES | GRAIN CARTAGE SHINGLE SUPPLIES | FERTILISER SUPPLIES Leeston: 03 3248 070 | Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz Experienced Dairy Vets Focused on whole farm performance Rakaia and Ashburton o ces Dedicated to dairying - we provide a dairy only veterinary service Excellent personalised service tailored to your farm system Competitively priced products and services O ce: Ashburton (03) 308 0493 Rakaia (03) 302 7818 418West Street, Ashburton 7700 9 Railway Terrace East, Rakaia 7710 Email: info@dairyvets.co.nz Web: www.dairyvets.co.nz They move to the new farm Lowcliff in Hinds on gypsy day. It has 630 cows and is part of the Poplar Rd Partnership.
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