Praise for Farmax rural award winner

Farmax Emerging Rural Professional of the Year, Stacey Belton

AgFirst dairy consultant Stacey Belton from Hamilton has been named as the Farmax Emerging Rural Professional of the Year, beating four other contestants in her field.

Stacey was one of three category winners announced at the Rural Professional of the Year Awards held during New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management's (NZIPIM) Awards Dinner at Lincoln.

The judges were highly impressed with the calibre of candidates for the Emerging Rural Professional of the Year category with little separating the five candidates.

In making their final decision, the judges noted that Stacey had an extensive knowledge base of farm management systems, and the self-awareness to understand what areas she needed to develop further to more effectively service her growing list of farming clients.

The judges were also impressed at her planned use of the prize money to undertake a project on how to attract more young people into the consulting profession.

Stacey gained a Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Honours at Lincoln, before joining AgFirst in its Northland office three-and-a-half years ago. She has been based at the Waikato office for the past 18-months.

She said she was surprised and delighted to win.

"I really love my job and I put a lot of effort into it and it is a really great feeling to be recognised as contributing to the industry."

NZIPIM Chief Executive Stephen Macaulay said the finalists reflected the changing face of the rural profession.

"It's fantastic to see more women entering the rural profession. All the candidates clearly see opportunities within the rural profession and I am sure they will have exciting careers ahead in the primary industry."

Award organisers Farmax and NZIPIM wish to acknowledge the support of Beef + Lamb New Zealand, DairyNZ, Farmax and the Ministry for Primary Industries.