Dairy gong for top employer

• Clovelly Tasmania general manager Mark Miers with the award for the dairy industry’s employer of choice.

March 24, 2021

The Bridport-based Clovelly dairy farms have been declared the Employer of Choice at the annual Tasmanian Dairy Awards.

General manager of Clovelly Tasmania Mark Miers said the accolade was properly attributed to the entire team.

The two dairies which milk about 4000 cows has a workforce of about 50 at its busiest and 40 for most of the time.

Mr Miers said the award, which recognised the company’s commitment to compliance, safety and work standards, could only help with the recruitment of workers.

“Although we rarely have to advertise and we rely mainly on the local community, in fact we’ve been operating for nine years and the nucleus of our staff have been with us from the outset.

“We put effort into developing that intergenerational support and passion for our animals from the community.”

Mr Miers said the farms were still assessing robotic milking systems that some dairies are moving to.

“We see technology as supporting our staff, but we recognise that our people have a special rapport with the animals that come from face-to-face contact.”

Cressy business Rosemount Agriculture was named winner of the 2021 ANZ Dairy Business of the Year award. 

A field day will be held at the property on Wednesday March 31.

Executive Officer of DairyTas Jonathan Price said it was heartening to see such high performance in the industry, despite recent challenges.

“Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the Tasmanian Dairy Industry has continued to perform well with record milk production and increased business confidence”.

Six other award winners were also announced:

Fonterra Share Dairy Farmer Award - Jeffrey Gijsbers & Monique Mulder

Cadbury Young Farmer Encouragement Award - Rory Wellwood

Rex James Stockfeed Dairy Farm Safety Award - Luke and Tammy Tuxworth

Fonterra Dairy Employee of the Year Award - Michael Thomas

Veolia Dairy Farm Environmental Award - Norm, Lesley & Rob Frampton 

The Dairy Business of the Year Award is supported by funding through the Dairy HIGH project, which is a partnership between Dairy Australia and Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.