30,287 copies distributed monthly – to every rural mailbox in Canterbury and the West Coast for over 25 years
May 2025 Edition
INSIDE
THIS EDITION A royal show
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Winners are grinners: Nikita Baker and Richard Grabham from ashburton took out the Share Farmer of the year title at the 2025 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry awards.
Ashburton farmers take out top dairy award p23
Dairy awards
Drought avoided
An Ashburton couple who took out one of the main prizes at the 2025 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Industry Awards see themselves as custodians of the land who aim to leave it in a better state for the next generation.
] by Kent Caddick p31
Richard Grabham and Nikita Baker, who contract milk on Geoff Baker’s 420ha, 1450-cow Ashburton property were named winners of the region’s Share Farmer of the Year category at the Dairy Industry Awards (DIA) regional final in Ashburton recently. Other major winners were George Dodson, a former FMG Young Farmer of the Year
award winner, who was named the 2025 Canterbury/North Otago Dairy Manager of the Year, and Caleb Smith, who was awarded the Dairy Trainee of the Year title. Richard and Nikita said their flexibility within their roles on farm is a key strength of their business. “We’re a joint management couple and can both run the farm solely if the other is away, which mitigates risk for the business if
RENEWED MOMENTUM ACROSS THE SECTOR After recently concluding the sale of 15 dairy farms, we still have cash buyers wanting to buy farms. If you are thinking of selling, contact the team today.
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ever there was a reason that one of us was unable to work.” Nikita said they’re a very adaptable business that welcomes new challenges and are always seeking for improvements around our people, land and animals. “We have a great team that also wants to see the business do well and are always ready to take on new challenges.”
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Congratulations to our lucky winners Bayleys is proud to be a National Sponsor of Surfing for Farmers. To celebrate, we gave away two surfboards at the recent South Island Agricultural Field Days. Congratulations to our lucky winners, Brooke Talbot from Kingsdown and Daniel Scott from Leeston — we hope you enjoy your new boards !
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