Page 98 - 2020 NZ Hereford Magazine

ABOVE: David Dodge (far right in back row) with the 2004 Merial Hereford Ambassadors. Back row, left to right: Chris Jeffries, Todd Skudder
(Merial), Sam Hain, Mark McKenzie and Rebecca McConochie. Front row: Doug Brown, Maria Robbie, Will Morrison and Paul Shepherd.

the East Coast, and Waiau, Duncraigen and Waikaka in Southland, 1000 Hereford cows and calves in front of us. Unbelievable. I’ve
to name a few.” never seen anything like it. A real picture.”
David remembers being a judge for the organisation’s David has been on many national herd tours, where he said it
inaugural biennial Hereford Farmer of the Year. “There was me, was easy to move around the bus talking to breeders and selling
someone from a bank, Peter Humphreys from Wilencote, and a bit of product.
Jan Wills was the chair; she was the World Hereford secretariat “Typically you’d get to catch up with most breeders at their
as well. We visited three finalists and the winner was Dave sales, but every year Wayne Williams from Glacier Herefords
Morrow at Okawa Stud. That was a memorable experience.” would ask why I had never been to his sale. So one year, I made
In 2004, the World Hereford Conference was in Armidale my way down the coast and it bucketed with torrential rain for the
in Australia. whole drive. I got to the pub at Haast and Wayne was in there.
“A lot of the young breeders over there are all farming in He took one look at me and said the sale had been cancelled
their own right now: Mark McKenzie, Rebecca McConochie because no-one could get in from the south… The following
(now Paterson), and Sam Hain from Gisborne were some of year I made a more successful attempt to get to Glacier’s sale. It
the team. They were the youth representing New Zealand at the was a fantastic West Coast experience complete with whitebait
time. Some people ask why we continue to sponsor at different fritters and all the local food and hospitality, while witnessing a
levels for such a long time and the answer is recognising the fantastic sale.”
value of the relationships that are formed. Our staff stay 10, While it was a social time and involved many nights away from
15 or 20 years. Some of those young breeders are dealing home, David says he has always appreciated the opportunities
with the territory managers and they will end up with the same the sponsorship relationship NZHA had given him.
friendships that I formed with the generation before them.” “While it was a lot of fun, it was always professional. The
He has some great memories of meetings, conferences and expectation from us was the courtesy of business where
road trips. possible. It has to be reciprocal. Anyone can give away money
“One of the highlights was a South Island road trip in two for sponsorship; the trick is trying to extract mutual value for both
vans with the youth team in the early 2000s. We went to parties so they’re both winners. We put in more than money. We
Beaumont Station, Gray Pannett’s at Millers Flat, Geof Brown’s put in time and effort and we’re part of the organisation. It has
at Locharburn and finished at Laurie Paterson’s at Waikaka been such a long association we could never take it lightly and
with a BBQ and refreshments in the woolshed. I hadn’t been to I’m sure New Zealand Herefords thinks the same.”
those properties before. He says that made it an easy decision to back New Zealand’s
“I still remember the first time I went to Colin King’s sale at bid for the 2020 World Hereford Conference and he’s proud
Waiau. That was an eye-opener travelling down the valley to Boehringer Ingelheim is its naming sponsor.
their farm; it just kept going and going and going. It was one of
those ‘wow’ South Island moments.”
Then there was a visit to Mt Nicholas, with a 30km drive
from the mailbox to the homestead.
“We drove in and a valley opened up and there were 900 to
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