The purpose of the Award is to highlight the successful application of scientific research or farmer experimentation through a series of trials or effective extension when applied to an aspect of animal production in New Zealand.

1. The Award will be called the Sir Arthur Ward Award in recognition of the outstanding contribution made by the benefactor to the Society, to field-oriented research in the dairy industry, or to animal production in New Zealand.
2. The Award will take the form of a commissioned Maori carving, on which will be inscribed the recipient's name, and a certificate.
3. The Award will remain the property of the Society, only being held by the recipient for the interval between Conferences or for a lesser period if deemed desirable by the Management Committee.
4. The recipient will receive a cheque for an amount that shall be the income from the invested fund for the previous financial year, provided that the amount is $400.
5. Travel expenses will be given to the awardee only to attend the presentation at the annual Conference.

1. The Society's Secretary will call for nominations for the Award at the same time as the call for abstracts of papers for presentation at the Society's next annual Conference. Closing date for nominations will be 1 March for years in which the annual conference is held in June and 30 September for years in which the conference is held in February. For details on conference dates, see the conference information pages.
2. Each nomination must be signed by two currently financial members of the Society and must contain documented evidence of the way or ways in which the nominee has fulfilled the objectives of the Award specifically as in relation to criteria outlined in 3(iv) and (v).
3. A potential recipient may be an individual, a company or an organisation, and need not be a current member of the Society.
4. Each nomination should identify how the nominee's efforts have made a substantial contribution towards the adoption of a practice (or practices), the use of which facilitates more efficient animal production in terms of output per animal, per labour unit or per farm.
5. The phrase "adoption of a practice" is to be broadly interpreted and may relate to :
   1. the development of a technique, a piece of equipment, or a husbandry practice;
   2. the effective encouragement of sound principles of animal production; or
   3. the development of a new aspect of animal production.
6. The Management Committee, or a sub-committee of it, will judge (by a majority vote) a nominee's suitability as a recipient of the Award.
7. Each nomination will be considered for the Award in three consecutive years unless the nominee becomes the recipient of the Award during the three year period. Unsuccessful nominations within the three year period may be updated but the period of eligibility is not extended.
8. If in the Management Committee's opinion, none of the nominees is a worthy recipient as based on the information presented in the nomination, the Award will not be presented in that year.
9. While it is preferable that the Award should recognise a contribution made within the previous decade, any worthwhile contribution made before the establishment of the Award (1981) should receive due consideration.
10. The proposer of the nomination should be advised by the Secretary of the Management Committee's decision with regard to that particular nomination. A proposer, for an unsuccessful nominee, should also be informed of the opportunity to update his nomination subject to 3(vii).
11. For a successful nomination, the President is responsible for the following :
    To the nominee :
    1. Invite the nominee to accept the Award
    2. Provide background information on the Award
    3. Offer an invitation to reply to the oration
    4. Note that NZSAP will not cover the cost of accommodation at the Conference venue for the nominee
    To the proposer :
    1. Obtain a list of selected guests to invite to the presentation (but at no cost to NZSAP).
    2. Ensure that copies of the oration have been delivered to the Society's Publicity Officer (2 copies) and Editor (2 copies) before the Conference (see 4 (vi)).
    To the invited guests :
    1. Invite them to attend the presentation of the Award and offer any non-members among them the opportunity to attend the Conference

1. The Award will be presented by the Society's President (or his nominee), to the recipient
2. The Society's Secretary shall be responsible for having the Award, appropriately engraved, and in the hands of the President at the Conference.
3. The Society's Treasurer shall be responsible for having the cheque to accompany the Award, in the hands of the President at the Conference.
4. The Award presentation will take place preferably during the Society's annual Conference
5. The presentation will be made after an appropriate oration which will summarise the nature of the recipient's contribution. This oration may be prepared and/or presented by the President or his nominee.
6. The person preparing the oration is responsible for providing two copies to the Society's Publicity Officer and two copies to the Society's Editor prior to the Conference.
7. The oration will be published in the Proceedings of the Society in a form acceptable to the Society's Editor.
8. The name of each recipient will be recorded in a list published in each Proceedings.

The award will be made from the Awards’ Fund established from the interest accruing from the Society's investments.

1. In the case of the loss of the Award, a new and similar carving is to be commissioned and the names of previous recipients are to be inscribed on it.
2. All costs of repair or replacement of the Award will be borne by the Society.