NZ Dairy Industry Awards: Entries open for ASB and Fonterra farm ownership prizes

Steve and Amy Gillies with ASB senior manager rural corporate, Craig Young, at the 2025 National New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards dinner.

Entries are now open for two awards in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards programme, designed to help young farmers take the next step towards farm ownership.

Organisers said the ASB Alumni of the Year Award, together with the Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award, gave winners a financial advantage in their ownership journey.

New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards general manager Robin Congdon said the awards extended the programme’s scope by supporting dairy trainees through to those purchasing farms.

“These awards strengthen our ability to recognise excellence at all stages of people’s dairy careers.”

Winners of the 2025 ASB Alumni of the Year Award, Steve and Amy Gillies, said access to 1% interest funding from ASB had fast-tracked their farming business.

The couple won the 2018 Waikato Share Farmers of the Year and achieved third place at the national awards.

They went on to purchase a 97ha farm at Te Awamutu in 2022.

Amy said entering the Alumni of the Year was a further opportunity to assess their finances and revisit their goals.

“Winning the award and being able to work with ASB has helped our budget immensely – we’ve had access to great rural managers who have looked at our business with fresh eyes."

She said it had also given the couple time to think about their next step.

“We really want to be able to buy a second farm and be in a position where we can comfortably employ a 50/50 sharemilker – we want to be in that position to pay it forward and give the next people coming through the industry an opportunity.

“Winning this award means we are a step closer to that goal now.”

The ASB Alumni of the Year Award encourages and rewards past entrants who have made significant contributions to the programme and the industry.

The award, a collaboration between the programme and ASB, is open to alumni who have been entrants in the past seven years and are no longer eligible to enter the Dairy Manager of the Year or Share Farmer of the Year categories, are not yet ready to purchase their first farm, or already own one.

ASB and NZ Dairy Industry Awards representatives will judge the entries, with the winner announced at the national gala dinner in Rotorua on May 9.

The winner receives up to $1 million in ASB Business Term Lending at 1% per annum for three years.

Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award

The Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award is a collaboration between ASB, Fonterra and the NZ Dairy Industry Awards Trust.

The award aims to help the best in the industry transition into farm ownership.

It is open to people who have previously entered the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.

There will be three winners, each receiving up to $1m of ASB Business Term Lending fixed at 1% per annum for three years.

Each winner also receives a Fonterra launch package that includes $20,000 of Farm Source account credit, mentoring and additional support.

Winners will also be announced at the national gala dinner in Rotorua.

Entries for the 2026 Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award and the ASB Alumni of the Year Award close on March 9.

For more information, or to enter these awards, visit dairyindustryawards.co.nz