An event tomorrow in Hawera is all part of the build-up to marking a major milestone for Taranaki's longest-running dairying contest.
Next March will mark 40 years since the region staged New Zealand's first contest for sharemilkers.
As part of the build-up, the Taranaki segment of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards was launched at Farm Source stores in Waitara and Waverley last week - and will be in Hawera tomorrow.
"It'll be really informal, so you can turn up in your overalls and gumboots," says regional convener Rob van den Brand. "It's an opportunity for everyone from trainees to farm owners to ask previous winners about the huge benefits of entering. Plus there'll be a free lunch."
Tariki variable order sharemilker Sam Howard, who is the 2016 Taranaki Farm Manager of the Year, is urging farmers to get involved.