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The winners of the 2024 National Master Dairyman Awards were announced by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) on Wednesday, 13 November, at Lanzerac Estate in Stellenbosch.
This prestigious competition, a highlight of South Africa’s agricultural calendar, annually recognises outstanding performance by the country’s top dairy producers. Winners are celebrated across various categories for breeding genetically superior animals, using performance recording, and applying testing as key tools.
The winners of the 2024 ARC National Master Dairyman Awards are:
- Large-Scale Master Dairyman of the Year: Foundation Farm (Barry and Jane Schiever), Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal.
- Medium-Scale Dairyman of the Year: Tweekop Boerdery (Pieter Steenkamp and Dirk van Papendorp), Heidelberg, Western Cape.
- Small-Scale Dairyman of the Year: Gugulomuzi Ngcobo, Donnybrook, KwaZulu-Natal.
- Herd with the Best Somatic Cell Count: Etienne Zeeman, Swellendam, Western Cape, with 157 000 cells/ml.
- Herd with the Best Intercalving Period: Packwood Farm (Heinrich Hurter), Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, with an intercalving period of only 391 days.
Barry Schiever said that Foundation Farm was honoured to receive the award for Large-Scale Master Dairyman of the Year. He praised the practice of milk recording in collaboration with the ARC, describing it as a valuable tool in enhancing the performance of individual cows in the herd. Foundation Farm, which has around 2 000 cows in milk, began in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal, in 1990 with just 20 registered cows and has since expanded to two dairies supplying Nestlé, Douglasdale, and Dairyland.
Sustainable youth development
The awards ceremony included a panel discussion on sustainable youth development. Moderated by Breyton Milford, general manager of Agri-Expo, the panel featured Prof Norman Maiwashe, general manager of animal production at the ARC, Daneel Rossouw, head of sales for agriculture at Nedbank, and Marguerite van Niekerk, a dairy science lecturer at Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute. Prof Maiwashe highlighted the importance of investing in skills and research, recommending that the industry should allocate more resources and work together to engage young people in agriculture through initiatives such as agricultural shows. Van Niekerk echoed this, calling for greater industry access for students, both during and after their studies, to help them gain practical experience.
Partners in agricultural excellence
Dr Litha Magingxa, president and CEO, and Joyene Isaacs, chairperson of the ARC, both underscored the impactful role of partnerships in achieving synergy and excellence within South African agriculture.
The 2024 awards event was hosted by Agri-Expo on behalf of the National Milk Recording and Improvement Scheme of the ARC, with support from partners including the Department of Agriculture, Nedbank, Nova Feeds, Agri-Expo, Semex South Africa, World Wide Sires South Africa, Meadow Feeds, Chemuniqué, Ecolab, and Axiota® Animal Health.
The ARC’s National Milk Recording and Improvement Scheme plays a critical role in the dairy industry through the provision of genetic improvement services, accredited by the International Committee for Animal Recording. The objective of the scheme is to enhance the sustainability and profitability of production, ultimately contributing to food security, job creation and human capital development. – Agri-Expo
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