An Edgecumbe farmer, who was first introduced to his workplace as an earthquake hit it in 1987, is heading to Wellington next month with his wife in the hope of winning a national dairy industry title.

Five-year-old Russell Meade and his classmates huddled in sleeping bags in a paddock as the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake rocked the farm owned by Barbara Sullivan, where he and wife Nadine are now award-winning sharemilkers.

Finalists Russell & Nadine Meade.

The pair, who milk 220 cows on a 50/50 sharemilking basis for Barbara, won the 2013 Bay of Plenty Sharemilker/Equity Farmers of the Year title in March and are now vying for a New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards national title.

Fellow finalist Chris Mexted, 23, who won Bay of Plenty's 2013 New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year title, is a farm manager on Bruce and Judy Wood's Edgecumbe farm of 151 ha, called ‘Dreamfields'.

Chris, who has a Bachelor of Commerce in Agriculture from Lincoln University, wants to eventually buy his own farm but the next big step is sharemilking. He won $10,700 in prizes for taking the regional award and will now contest the national title.

Another contender Thomas Chatfield, who won 2013's Bay of Plenty New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year title, is also in the running. The 27-year-old who previously qualified as a physiotherapist, got into farming after returning with his partner Jody Mexted from overseas.

Now working for Rhys Watkins on his parents' 500 cow Whakatane farm, Thomas hopes that together with Jody, who is working on her parent's dairy farm, they will progress to sharemilking and, one day, farm ownership.

He won $4500 prize package with his regional title and heads to Wellington on May 24.

The three Bay of Plenty section finalists join 31 other finalists in the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year competitions which are now all known thanks to completion of 12 regional award programmes last week.

'The finalists have a range of backgrounds and experience in the industry, but are all working hard and achieving great results in their various positions. This is helping them to progress their career and grow their equity to take the next step in the dairy industry,” says national convenor Chris Keeping.

'The range of positions they hold also demonstrates the way the dairy industry has evolved to create opportunities for people to enter and progress at their own pace and in their own way.”

Chris Keeping says the finalists hold positions from farm assistants, herd managers, farm managers, contract milkers, lower order and 50 per cent sharemilkers, to equity managers and equity partners.

'Some are in an equity partnership and are then lower order sharemilking for that partnership. It really is now whatever works.”

The finalists include a set of brothers, a seven-time dairy industry awards entrant, and a number with university and trade qualifications. The smallest herd size among the finalists is 220 cows, while the largest is 1400 cows.

Finalists will converge on Wellington for the national awards dinner on May 24. Before then, many will host on-farm field days and prepare for national judging, which takes place in mid-May.

The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner AgITO.

Further information on the finalists and on-farm field days can be found at: http://www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz/

The finalists are:

New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year:
Northland – Ian & Tim Douglas (brothers)
Auckland/Hauraki – James Courtman
Waikato – Andrew & Michelle McPherson
Bay of Plenty – Russell & Nadine Meade
Central Plateau – Garth & Nicola Thomson
Taranaki – Kenneth & Rachel Short
Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa –Shaun & Kate Mitchell
Manawatu/Rangitikei/Horowhenua – Richard McIntyre
West Coast/Top of the South – Peter & Helen McLaren
Canterbury/North Otago – Morgan & Hayley Easton
Southland – Don & Jess Moore

New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year:
Northland – Niall & Delwyn McKenzie
Auckland/Hauraki – Michael & Kylie Cox
Waikato – Gary McFarlane
Bay of Plenty – Chris Mexted
Central Plateau –Blair & Andrea Muggeridge
Taranaki – Michael Kavanagh & Rowena Duncum
Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa – Bart & Tineke Gysbertsen
Manawatu/Rangitikei/Horowhenua – Michael & Raewyn Hills
West Coast/Top of the South – Blue Benseman
Canterbury/North Otago – Richard Pearse
Southland – Daniel & Emma Todd

New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year:
Northland – Jake Thomson
Auckland/Hauraki – Mathew Whittaker
Waikato – Thomas Herbert
Bay of Plenty –Central Plateau – Todd Adamson
Taranaki – Daniel Regtien
Hawkes Bay/Wairarapa – Ken Aradsen
Manawatu/Rangitikei/Horowhenua – Nicholas Verhoek
West Coast/Top of the South – Sam Riley
Canterbury/North Otago – Adam Caldwell
Otago – Ben Sanders
Southland – James Warren