Nominations open for 2027 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year award
The award recognises women whose leadership, initiative and innovation contribute to the sustainability and resilience of New Zealand’s dairy industry. Candidates can come from throughout the dairy value chain, including farm owner-operators, sharemilkers, rural professionals, researchers and agribusiness executives. Women are also encouraged to nominate themselves.
The Kellogg programme offers development in strategic governance, opportunities to examine executive decision-making and connections with leaders from other sectors across New Zealand. Dairy Women’s Network links the award and scholarship to its work supporting women’s progression from responsibilities in farming and local communities into governance and other decision-making positions.
Hinehou (Hine) Timutimu, the 2026 recipient, described the award as an important source of support for her professional development and industry advocacy. Her Kellogg research, titled Not One More Acre of Māori Land, Not One More Voice Lost, explored the difference between women’s involvement in agribusiness and their influence in formal executive roles. It found that women were underrepresented on agricultural boards and in senior policy governance despite their work running farm businesses, leading communities and meeting environmental requirements.
Jenna Smith, a Dairy Women’s Network trustee who leads the judging panel, highlighted women whose contributions receive little public recognition. Their responsibilities include overseeing dairy-business finances, putting biosecurity arrangements into practice, mentoring farm employees and supporting farming communities. Smith noted that many do this work without seeking recognition for themselves. The award provides a platform for recognising these contributions and supporting recipients’ development as leaders.
Fonterra’s support dates to the award’s establishment in 2012. Barbara Kuriger was its first recipient. Other former winners include Justine Kidd, Trish Rankin, Ash-Leigh Campbell, Belinda Price, Donna Cram and Jo Sheridan. Over the award’s history, recipients have taken up roles on dairy co-operative boards, regional councils, environmental committees and panels advising the industry.
The initiative operates against a backdrop of changes in international trade rules, emissions targets and workforce conditions affecting dairy businesses. Dairy Women’s Network and Fonterra present the development of women’s leadership, including access to governance training for talent emerging from farming communities, as part of their efforts to strengthen the sector’s long-term resilience.
