Fortuna Group

Today is World Milk Day, when we celebrate the vital food source that nourishes millions of Kiwis every day.

You probably already know all about milk, and how it supports bone health, growth, and immune functions.

Yet milk isn’t just good for the people who enjoy drinking it. It’s good for the region and New Zealand economically, too.

We'll drink (milk) to that!

It’s an exciting time at Fortuna. We’re growing quickly, with an award-winning team, a supportive culture, and a clear purpose of creating opportunities through dairy.

And now we’ve got a number of opportunities for motivated individuals to join the team as:

- Farm Assistants (Winter Support)
- Calf Rearers
- Experienced Tractor Operator

Visit https://fortunagroup.net.nz/workingwithus/ for more information. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

At Fortuna, keeping everyone safe on farm is a daily priority. This extends to family members and visitors, and we recently ran a Safety Superhero Competition to encourage positive safety habits and get every residential child on farm to wear their new high-viz vest.

This is because we know growing up on farm is an incredible experience, but it has to be a safe one. The new vests help with that. Also, Mum and Dad have to wear high-viz too.

Congratulations to Leiyannah, who won with this snap of her wearing her new vest.

Well done, Leiyannah.

May is People Month at Fortuna.

It's all about celebrating our people and showing what's possible, such as the pathway from Dairy Assistant to owning a part of something larger. It's also about sharing the tools needed to get there.

At Fortuna, we take the time to understand the dreams of our team members, and we're committed to helping make those dreams come true.

It's all part of creating opportunities through dairy - which is why we're here.

Maybe you'd like to be here too? Get started by reaching out to [email protected] for more information.

What a night for the Fortuna family at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards!

At a special evening recognizing the farmers making a real impact across the dairy sector, and pitted against the very best in the industry, our team members made us all very proud by scooping multiple prizes.

A huge congratulations to Scott & Stacey Mackereth on being named the 2026 New Zealand Share Farmers of the Year — an outstanding achievement and a reflection of their hard work, leadership, and dedication to the industry. We are incredibly proud to have them as part of the Fortuna Group team.

Scott & Stacey also received:
•⁠ ⁠Trelleborg Sustainable Pasture Award
•⁠ ⁠Federated Farmers Leadership Award
•⁠ ⁠DairyNZ People & Culture Award

Congratulations also to Tony Dodunski, Fortuna Director, on receiving the Fonterra Responsible Dairying Award — a very special and well-deserved recognition of his leadership, commitment to responsible dairying, sustainability, and long-term industry impact.

A special mention also to Lan Bariuad for representing strongly as a finalist in the Dairy Manager category — a significant achievement and something to be very proud of.

An amazing night - well done team.

Following the takeover of Mt Prospect Station, we invited Brian from the QEII Trust to take a look. Brian's an experienced Ecologist and we're very grateful for his advice and guidance.

He spent over 2 days recording all the species on the land, helping identify special interest areas, and making recommendations to support our aim of being good custodians of the land.

We want Mt Prospect to look as good for future generations (of humans and wildlife), so this is an important step.

Interested in growing your farming experience? We're looking for a Farm Assistant at Mount Prospect Station, Te Anau.

The successful applicant will benefit from 'Fortuna Future Pathways', our career development programme that's creating the faming leaders of tomorrow. It's an attractive opportunity for anyone looking to begin their career in farming.

Your office views are pretty attractive, too.

Learn more here: https://fortunagroup.net.nz/workingwithus/opportunity/41

We sponsored the Emerging Talent Award at this year's Southland/Otago Dairy Industry Awards because we’re excited about the next generation of farmers, and we’re committed to help developing excellence through the Fortuna Academy, our very own in-house training programme.

The finalists for this year's award were all impressive but there can only be one winner, and that winner was Jack Pow.

As part of the prize package, Jack will be joining the Fortuna Academy and enjoy a series of one-on-one coaching sessions with members of the Fortuna Team.

A big well done Jack, we’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

PS. If you’re curious about a career in farming, then take a look here: https://fortunagroup.net.nz/workingwithus/growing-careers/

Everyone in the Fortuna Family is excited to shout out Scott & Stacey Mackereth and Lan Bariuad for their wins at the 2026 Southland/Otago Dairy Industry Awards 🏆

Scott & Stacey claimed the Share Farmers of the Year Award, and Lan was victorious in the Dairy Manager of the Year Award.

That wasn’t all though. Lan also won:

The CowManager Livestock Management Award 🥇
The DeLaval Pasture & Feed Management Award 🥇

Scott & Stacey also claimed:

The Trelleborg Sustainable Pasture Award 🥇
The Landpro Environmental Sustainability Award 🥇
The Honda Farm Safety, Health & Biosecurity Award 🥇
The DairyNZ - People & Culture Award 🥇

It was a good night and the whole Fortuna family is incredibly proud of Scott, Stacey, and Lan. Also, a shout-out to everyone who was nominated and won awards. The future of dairy farming in New Zealand looks bright!

Could you help lead the day-to-day management of Mt Prospect Station, ensuring productive, sustainable, and safe farm operations?

If you could, then we maybe should talk.

Learn more here: https://fortunagroup.net.nz/workingwithus/opportunity/40