LeAnne Blakelock (left), Rachel Short, and Hinehou Timutimu are the finalists for the 2026 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
The finalists for the Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award have been released, with LeAnne Blakelock, Rachel Short and Hinehou Timutimu in the running for the title in 2026.
The Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award recognises a woman who has contributed to the dairy sector with passion, drive, innovation and leadership.
The recipient of the award receives a scholarship to be part of the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.
The scholarship covers the programme fee, travel and accommodation, mentoring and access to Dairy Women’s Network and Fonterra’s platforms to share research.
Jenna Smith, Dairy Women’s Network trustee and head judge, said the calibre of this year’s finalists reflected the depth of leadership emerging across the sector.
“What stood out this year wasn’t just capability, it was clarity,” she said.
“These women are clear on what matters, clear on the role they can play, and they’re already getting on with leading.”
The Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award will be announced on May 5 at the gala dinner of the Dairy Women’s Network Conference 2026 in Christchurch, where the theme is “Success through Inspiration”.
LeAnne Blakelock is a dairy farmer, sharemilker and chartered accountant based in Inglewood, Taranaki.
She combines practical farming experience with financial expertise to see the whole dairy industry from the paddock to the boardroom.
Blakelock is the founder of Calf Chronicles, a farmer-to-farmer platform with more than 5800 followers across New Zealand and internationally.
What began as a space to share practical, evidence-based insights on calf welfare, nutrition and performance has grown into a wider conversation about the future of the industry.
Through honest storytelling, on-farm data and science, Blakelock connects people with animal welfare, human wellbeing and system performance in a way that resonates on-farm and beyond.
She is also the creator of the Rose Gold Veal brand, championing ethical veal production and elevating conversations around calf utilisation, welfare and whole-of-system sustainability.
Blakelock has completed the Fonterra Governance Development Programme, the AgriWomen’s Development Trust Escalator programme, and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.
She is an active member of the Dairy Women’s Network Taranaki Business Group and regularly speaks at conferences and industry events across New Zealand and internationally.
She has spent more than a decade volunteering in suicide prevention and community wellbeing projects and holds governance roles across multiple community trusts.
Blakelock believes the future of the industry lies not just in better systems, but in better connections between people, animals and the decisions that shape both.
Rachel Short is a born-and-bred Coastal Taranaki dairy farmer who, alongside her husband and parents, owns two certified organic dairy farms near Ōpunakē.
Short led the conversion of both farms to organic certification from 2015 and has become one of New Zealand’s leading voices in organic and regenerative dairy farming.
She is a member of the Fonterra Organic Farmer Advisory Group, chairs the Taranaki Dairy Environment Leaders, and sits on the DairyNZ Dairy Environment Leaders National Advisory Committee.
Her farm has been a DairyNZ budget case study for over a decade.
Short has held roles with the NZ Dairy Industry Awards National Executive, Organic Dairy & Pastoral Group, Organics Aotearoa NZ and Quorum Sense, and judged the 2026 Taranaki Share Farmer of the Year.
She is an increasingly sought-after speaker and farmer representative, having participated in webinars and panel discussions for Dairy Women’s Network, AsureQuality and Fonterra on the growth of organic dairy, most recently speaking at the Underground Festival in Canterbury on the financial case for regenerative agriculture.
Short is passionate about healthy ecosystems as the foundation for human nutrition, animal welfare and farm profitability.
Hinehou Timutimu (Tuhoe, Whakatohea, Te Atiawa) is the general manager of Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust in the Bay of Plenty, where she leads a dual-enterprise model combining dairy farming and maize.
Her leadership philosophy is guided by the whakataukī ‘Ka ora ai te whenua, Ka ora ai te tangata’ (When the Land thrives, the People thrive) and is woven through every initiative she leads.
Timutimu brings together mātauranga Māori and Western science to deliver climate resilience, biodiversity restoration, and dairy performance improvements.
Her work includes Project Te Aroha, which accelerates dairy productivity and emissions reduction through herd genomics and regenerative farming; He Whāriki mō Paekoau, a catchment restoration programme engaging schools and hapū; and Kua Āmio ki Tōna Tīmatanga, which creates bilingual resources and weaves cultural knowledge into environmental action.
In 2025, Timutimu represented New Zealand as an expert speaker at the Apec Technical Cooperation Workshop in Bangkok, contributing to international discussions on women’s economic empowerment and sustainable agriculture.
She holds governance credentials spanning the IoD Company Directors’ Course, the Fonterra Governance Development Programme, the LIC leadership programmes and MPI Governance Essentials.
She has been selected for the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme 2026.
Timutimu is also deputy chair of the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards Management Committee.
- Supplied by Dairy Women’s Network