The New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators Inc

12 June  2008

Feilding veterinarian and consultant, Trevor Cook.  has won this year’s Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year.

This is the first time a vet has taken out the prestigious award , which is administered by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators, and recognises excellence in communicating agricultural issues, events or information, and is judged by a nationwide panel of ten independent judges. 

Regarded as the premier award for agricultural communicators, it is also the most valuable prize on offer.  Landcorp provides a prize of $2500, which is part of a funding packing of $7500 in sponsorship for the Guild. The additional funding assists with administration costs, including the Award dinner.

Trevor Cook has developed a national consultancy business from his base in Feilding, and is regularly called on to speak at field days, animal health forums and seminars as well as providing one-on-one advice to clients.   He has a reputation for a no-nonsense, unbiased advise which is seen by many as second to none in the veterinary and consultancy profession.  

He has invested a lot of his own time in researching production-limiting issues confronting sheep=beef farmers, and has focussed many southern North Island sheep and beef farmers on productivity, particularly through higher performance sheep systems on hill country.  His work has now extended to maximising lamb survival and reducing lamb wastage  from scanning to weaning.  He is also an expert advisor on internal parasite issues and has played a key role in the development of the industry strategy, Wormwise, to reduce the effects of internal parasites on sheep and cattle performance.

One of his key communications tools has been a regular column for the past eight years in monthly farming publications, Country-Wide.

The winner was announced at an Awards Dinner in Hamilton last night, an annual event held on the first evening of National Fieldays, which was attended by many members of the agricultural media, with invited guests from the agribusiness sector.

This year, there were six nominations received for the award, and Guild President Hugh Stringleman said he was impressed with the calibre of the nominees.  “The panel of ten judges will have had great difficulty in selecting one person, but I think that between them, they have come up with an extremely worthy winner this year.

“I am particularly pleased this year, the Guild’s 50^th anniversary year, that this award recognises the major contribution made to the agricultural sector by  veterinarians who play such a vital role in the success of farms up and down the country,” he said.

For more information:

Sue Miller New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators

04 233 1842  Mobile 0274 510 339

Or Trevor Cook Totally Vets, Feilding

06 323 6161  027 44 3616