It's not quite the Oscars, but Andrew and Allison Watters walked away with dairying's equivalent when they won the 2003 NZ Sharemilker of the Year title at the weekend.
The couple, from Pahiatua, pocketed prizes worth $37,000 at the awards ceremony at Auckland's Old Government House on Saturday night.
The Watters are
50:50 sharemilking 330 cows on 93 hectares in Pahiatua, owned by Cynthia Cass and Ian Arbithnott. They also sharemilk a Carterton farm owned by the Budd-Taumata Partnership and are set to take ownership of their own 240-cow dairy farm next month.
The judges said the couple's detailed business plan was a key factor in their win.
Andrew Watters is a former supplier liaison officer for Kiwi Co-operative Dairies, which merged to form Fonterra, and Allison Watters has a PhD in human nutrition and has worked for the dairy industry in infant nutrition.
A prize pool of $60,000 was at stake in the competition, run in association with Federated Farmers. It is in its 15th year and aims to recognise and promote excellence in sharemilking.
Second place, and prizes worth $7000, went to Andrew and Jackie Siemelink, who sharemilk 270 cows on a 120ha farm at Papamoa, owned by Jack and Jill By De Ley. Their goal is to one day own their own 400-cow farm in the Te Puke area.
Third place went to Taranaki Sharemilkers of the Year Peter and Tanya Ford, who sharemilk 290 cows on an 81ha property owned by Fonterra director Harry Bayliss and wife Helen. They won $4000 cash.
Past winners include Fonterra directors Jim van der Poel and Marise James.
There are more than 5000 sharemilkers in the country and they harvest 40 per cent of New Zealand's milk production.
