Jess and Karl Wood won the Dairy Industry Awards' 2026 Manawatū Share Farmer of the Year title.
The winners of the 2026 Manawatū Dairy Industry Awards were announced at the annual awards dinner held at the Distinction Hotel in Palmerston North on Friday evening.
Karl and Jess Wood were named the region’s Share Farmer of the Year, with Adrian Waugh winning the Dairy Manager of the Year title and Jack Foster named Dairy Trainee of the Year.
Karl and Jess Wood sharemilk 230 cows on 85ha for John Gardner in Palmerston North.
Karl Wood, 31, grew up on a pedigree milking shorthorn stud at Hiwinui and Jess Wood, 33, is a trained vet nurse.
Together, they love farming and their cows.
The couple said their desire for farm ownership, or leasing their own piece of land, had grown since having their daughter, Daisy and tackling parenting and farming.
The Woods won six merit awards and took home a prize package worth $7800.
Waugh, the 2026 Manawatū Dairy Manager of the Year, won $7600 and five merit awards on the evening.
The 29-year-old works for the Hopkins Farming Group, milking 960 cows on 330ha in Apiti.
Waugh has worked for the Hopkins Group for 12 years.
He worked his way up from dairy assistant to assistant manager to farm manager over the past eight years.
Waugh said he is driven by measuring performance, from milk production and reproduction to financial results and staff retention.
“I’m good at managing staff to their strengths and training when needed, and getting them interested in performance.”
Waugh’s goal is to go contract milking and build equity to go sharemilking.
Foster, the 2026 Manawatū Dairy Trainee of the Year, won $5850 in prizes along with two merit awards.
The 23-year-old is a farm assistant on the Fonterra Longburn Farm in Palmerston North, milking 650 cows on 262ha.
Foster studied for a Bachelor of Animal Science at Massey University.
He worked on the Massey dairy farm during his studies, which gave him insight into a career working on farms.
Foster got a job at Longburn and is now driven to work his way up to farm ownership through management and sharemilking.
“I’ve always loved working with animals, and I love the dairy industry,” he said.
“I enjoy a challenge, especially the feeling of finishing a hard day during calving, as it feels rewarding.
“I would like to see more young New Zealanders entering careers in the dairy industry and more encouragement from schools and universities towards these careers.”
Further details on the Manwatū Dairy Industry Awards winners and upcoming Field Day can be found here.
Manawatū Share Farmer of the Year
Winner: Karl and Jess Wood
Runner up: Nicola Bosch and Kieran Scannell
Third: Natalie and Zayn Jones
Manawatū Dairy Manager of the Year
Winner: Adrian Waugh
Runner up: Kristin Wilson
Third: Alex Meads
Manawatū Dairy Trainee of the Year
Winner: Jack Foster
Runner-up: Charlie Cowie
Third: Elisa Berle
Share Farmer Merit Awards
Dairy Manager Merit
Dairy Trainee Merit Awards
– Supplied by Dairy Industry Awards