Not only does the Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year recipient achieve the coveted title, but this year they will also receive a scholarship to the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.
Those that have been through the Kellogg’s programme call it life changing.
Vanessa Thomson:
Vanessa Thomson recently graduated from the programme and shares her insights. Vanessa is a working mum with a young family, who sharemilks with her husband on two farms in the Waikato. She is also a former lawyer and is currently the Contract Manager for DairyNZ.
I was looking for a new challenge that could develop my networks both professionally and personally across the sector. I’d followed Kellogg for a long time and last year it felt like the time was right to go for it. It was thanks to a scholarship offered by DWN and Fonterra that I could take this opportunity and I owe them a huge amount of gratitude for this life changing opportunity.
The programme has equipped me with a deeper understanding of myself and gave me an amazing range of practical leadership tools. I’m a working mum from rural New Zealand and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it opened my world up again after a period of being in the trenches with a young family, juggling work and farm life.
The people you’re exposed to on the course through our presenters and lecturers, are our sector heavyweights. It’s a privilege to meet these brilliant, busy people and hear about their authentic leadership journey and insights.
One example is time I spent with Anne Douglas, Group Director Farm Source, and the incredible insights and knowledge that she generously shared have shaped my approach going forward.
Through Kellogg, I made enduring connections with the members of my cohort who hailed from a range of different sectors, and we have now built a community of remarkable sector professionals founded on deep respect and understanding. I feel excited to think that my cohort will be part of leading and guiding the sector into our bright future.
Very few times in our busy lives are we given space to deeply reflect and deep dive into a topic of interest. The Kellogg project offered me this space. My topic investigated the support available to farmers after a crisis and disaster and is very personal to me following my experience in the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. We’ve also experienced flooding at our dairy farm twice and my husband was managing our emergency response to the first flood while I was away at Kellogg, so the topic was very front of mind for me. I have a huge admiration for the services and people supporting our farmers, and for our farmers who show resilience and courage under such challenging circumstances.
My advice to anyone thinking of nominating themselves or being nominated for Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year, with an opportunity to access the Kellogg Programme, is to do it, you won’t regret it.
Donna Cram:
Donna Cram received the 2023 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year Award and used some of the Fonterra prize leadership funding to attend the Rural Leaders Value Chain Innovation Programme.
The programme was incredible, and I am still buzzing – even months later. I was one of 13 participants who took part in an extensive regional tour, traveling with Professor Hamish Gow and Phil Morrison, exploring four value chains: apple, kiwi fruit, dairy and red meat. Averaging four to five locations each day we were able to look at our primary sector value chain from a range of angles.
My fellow participants were all amazing people from diverse backgrounds, and we learnt as much from each other, especially through the deep, insightful, and very honest conversations, as from the rural leaders who welcomed us into their businesses.
We witnessed some great management practices and heard about opportunities and challenges facing each industry and how some have survived through adverse events, such as disease, and how they have become more resilient from the experience. We had doors opened to us that you would never normally get access to, engaging with rural leaders who were truly inspiring. We were encouraged to listen and question and the generosity of those leaders that shared their stories will always be remembered, and I felt privileged to be there.
I took so much from the programme; the connections, the insights, the fact all our value chains have challenges but also committed passionate people who work tirelessly to look for opportunities for our primary produce.
It also gave me great inspiration in my own life; what others are doing locally and direct to market has given me confidence to have a goat new projects.
"I encourage our dairy women to put themselves forward for the Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award. You can either be nominated or apply yourself. This award, with the Kellogg Rural Leadership opportunity, which includes the programme fee, travel, accommodation, mentoring and access to DWN and Fonterra platforms to share their research, goes a small way to recognising the efforts of our amazing dairywomen.”
- Jules Benton, DWN Chief Executive.
Applications close 29 February 2024. Visit Dairy Women's Network for more information about the award.