In New Zealand’s Waikato District, a region known as the heart of dairy country, Jo Sheridan is making waves. She was named the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year for her work on the farm and as demonstration manager on the Owl Farm. Sheridan has more than 25 years in the dairy industry and uses that experience to mentor young farmers.
She shares her dairy farm story with Mid-West Farm Report and makes some comparisons between dairying on an island and what she’s learned here about farming in Wisconsin.
Sheridan operates a 370-cow dairy on roughly 350 acres, a farm size she says is about average for New Zealand. Her operation follows a pastoral grazing system, which relies heavily on turning high-quality grass into high-quality milk products. The timing of milk production follows the growth pattern of ryegrass.
“We’re a seasonal supply dairy industry, so we calve, block calve normally in the spring and sometimes in the autumn,” she explains. “There’s a period where every cow will be dry, and that’s when farmers will take a bit of a holiday or get themselves set up for the next season, ready to start again, and so we have a very condensed carving spread.”
Beyond her own farm, Sheridan plays a leading role at Owl Farm, a demonstration dairy that welcomes about 2,000 visitors each year to learn about sustainable production and industry innovation.
Changing Needs
She says, much like in Wisconsin, New Zealand’s dairy industry is navigating a generational shift. Farmers are aging, and new entrants face barriers to buying land and starting operations. However, she notes a recent change in attitude among young people, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People realized food security and interacting with their environment and being outdoors was a really big value for them,” she says. “And so we’ve seen a lot of youth are more interested in the food and fiber sector.”
The challenge now, Sheridan says, is creating workplaces that young people want to join, ones that embrace technology, prioritize animal welfare and environmental care, and provide a healthy work-life balance. New Zealand, like the U.S., also faces labor shortages in agriculture. Sheridan says the country relies on both domestic and immigrant labor, supported by the growing use of technology to improve efficiency.
“I mean, on our farm alone, we have halter collars, so we are able to remotely set up virtual fences and guide our cows to the milking parlour all via our phones,” she says.
Economically, Sheridan describes the current dairy market in New Zealand as strong. She notes her own cooperative’s success has led to strong dividends and reinvestment opportunities.
“It’s a good time to be dairying in New Zealand,” she says.
Commonalities
Sheridan views New Zealand and the United States as partners, not competitors, in feeding the world. After visiting several Wisconsin farms, she says she was struck by the similarities between farmers in both countries, particularly the focus on family and innovation.
“I watched some amazing farming families and particularly some young women who were balancing running these farms from generation to generation,” she says. “I was so impressed by the commonalities around finding solutions to make sure that people continue to stay in dairying and adopting smart technology, robotic milking systems, and processes that work for them and their families, as our needs are changing.”
Sheridan’s recent trip to World Dairy Expo marked her first time in Wisconsin. She says the experience offered a valuable global perspective on dairy production. Sheridan says seeing firsthand how technology and sustainability intersect in American agriculture helped her think about how those innovations might apply to New Zealand’s pastoral grazing system.
