Meet the dairy champions driving change in Mzansi

The 2025 National Master Dairyman Awards united South Africa’s dairy champions at Lanzerac Estate in Stellenbosch, honouring 25 finalists for their vital contributions and celebrating three exceptional winners shaping the future of the industry.

The annual competition also celebrates winners across multiple categories for excellence in breeding genetically superior animals, utilising performance recording, and applying rigorous testing methods.

This year, the awards introduced a new category, the ARC Correctional Services Master Dairyman of the Year, highlighting correctional services managers who are pioneering farming initiatives within correctional facilities.

Farming hope behind bars

Goedemoed Correctional Services in the Eastern Cape, led by manager Zuko May, claimed the top award. May pointed out that inequality and poverty are major issues driving much of the country’s crime. To help address this, their self-sufficiency and sustainability programme ensures inmates have daily access to food, helping to prevent hunger within the facility.

“Correctional services have farms all over, and the aim of farming is to ensure that we reduce the taxpayer’s money spent on feeding the prisoners. We have all farming activities, not only limited to dairy. What we want to ensure is that South Africans are not burdened with feeding prisoners; prisoners produce their own food,” May said.

However, one of the challenges they face is that many inmates arrive without any farming experience and must be taught these skills from scratch. These life skills prove valuable not only during their time in the facility but also help with their reintegration after release.

For May, this award “means a lot because correctional services are known for bad things; at the end of the day, beyond those dark walls, there is always hope. We are committed to uplifting and developing the prisoners.”

Awards highlight and top performers

The 2025 winners of the ARC National Master Dairyman Awards included Letsolo from PT Dairy, who was named Small-Scale Master Dairyman of the Year; Van Niekerk Boerdery BK, awarded Medium-Scale Master Dairyman of the Year; and Packwood Farm in Knysna, recognised for the best somatic cell count at 170,000 cells.

The overall Master Dairyman of the Year went to the JK Basson Family Trust, which also received the award for the best inter-calving period of 375 days.

Breyton Milford, CEO of Agri-Expo, told Food For Mzansi that his company firmly believes in the value of competitions, exhibitions, shows, and recognition in agriculture.

He explained that this commitment reinforces Agri-Expo’s proud involvement with the ARC Master Dairyman Awards for over a decade, seeing it as an honour to support and celebrate excellence within South Africa’s dairy industry.

“Dairy farmers are probably some of the most hardworking farmers in this country. They need to be up early in the morning and still milk at night. They can never take leave because a cow does not stop milking.

“So, where else do they get recognition? This event gives recognition to dairy farmers, and that is why we are involved,” he said.