Eady takes last shot at title
Regional final winner takes last spot in national competition — and, for him, it’s last-chance saloon
Northland farmer Caleb Eady has moved closer to clinching one of New Zealand’s top farming honours by winning the Season 56 Northern FMG Young Farmer of the Year title.
Eady, 30, was declared the winner on Saturday night after two days of intense competition at the Mangaka¯hia Sports and Community Complex near Whangarei.
His win secured him the only remaining spot in the grand final, set to take place in Hamilton in July, where he will face six other regional champions.
The weekend competition marked the conclusion of seven regional finals held across Aotearoa from February to April.
Eady said the final kept contestants on their toes.
“You always want to win, but I was just taking it one step at a time,” he said. “I knew the other contestants well and knew they were tough, so making it to Saturday felt like a big win in itself.”
Eady is no stranger to the contest, after convening the previous regional final and being an active part of the Young Farmers community for many years.
Making it to the grand final is a pretty cool way to see out my time in the organisation.
— Caleb Eady
“I’ll be ageing out of Young Farmers soon, so making it to the grand final is a pretty cool way to see out my time in the organisation.”
Eady operates a fencing business in Northland and leases a beef farm with dairy grazers and a small calfrearing operation.
Asked about the best part of the weekend, Eady said he was excited about the practical challenges.
“The farmlet played right into my fencing strengths, as did building a gate and dealing with water issues in the head-to-heads.”
Franklin Young Farmers member Sam Waugh, 31, clinched second place by only two points, and Kaipara Young Farmers member Zarnie Fergusson, 30, secured the third spot on the podium for the third year in a row.