Jenny Jago

Jenny has built a distinguished career at DairyNZ where she has delivered numerous programmes that have had a significant impact creating positive progress for dairy farmers. At DairyNZ, she has held senior leadership roles, including spending seven years as a leader for strategy and investment, contributing to sector strategy development, and working closely with dairy organisations, and sector partners. She has served on the International Dairy Federation standing committees for farm management and animal health and welfare.

Jenny is highly respected internationally and nationally for her scientific expertise in farm systems, milking efficiency, animal welfare, the application of digital technology to animal management, and workplace productivity. She has expertise in pastoral automatic milking systems and the learning ability of dairy cattle and developed milking routines to shorten milking times in conventional dairies.

Jenny is skilled at managing teams to effectively tackle challenges, build knowledge and develop practical solutions for farmers. Her expertise supports the sector to remain internationally competitive by delivering solutions which integrate animal welfare knowledge with local and international expectations for animal care in our production systems.

Jenny gained her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science and Technology in Animal Sciences, followed by a PhD in Animal Sciences, at the University of Waikato. After graduating, she completed post-doctoral research at AgResearch, the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in France, and the Danish Institute of Agricultural Science.