North to host Grand Final spectacle
The calibre of competitors and the stakes are high as NZ’s finest young farmers converge on Whangarei for a long-awaited battle, Donna Russell reports.
Whangarei will host this year’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest series Grand Final. The prestigious event featuring the best Young Farmers in New Zealand is being held from July 7 to 9, also featuring the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year and AgriKidsNZ competitions.
The seven grand finalists competed in district contests from September last year to gain qualification for the regional finals held early this year.
Alongside the contest series, the New Zealand Young Farmers tournament series finals would bring in 47 competitors, including seven fencing teams competing in pairs, 20 stock judges and 13 clay target shooters. About 200 people would also attend The Norwood National Awards hosted by Jay and Dunc from The Rock Drive radio show. The organisation’s AGM was also scheduled.
NZ Young Farmers chief executive Lynda Coppersmith said the stakes for 2022 were incredibly high being the third contest season impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite that the entries were up 30 per cent after a concerted effort, she said.
“The calibre of competitors is the highest I have seen and it is an extraordinary showcase of the skills and knowledge needed to be involved in the primary industries in this day and age.
“Our competitors represent the full diversity of the primary industries and the array of opportunities available and goes to show that NZ Young Farmers’ members really are the best and brightest.”
Coppersmith said the practical parts of the competition would go ahead — rain, hail or shine. “It will be a real spectacle, showcasing the skills of these competitors.”
Grand Final convener Natalie Lynch said they were really looking forward to showcasing the best of Northland’s agriculture industry and showing off the region to about 800 visitors.
“We’ve kept two things at the forefront of our minds when planning and that was wanting to challenge our
We want it to be awesome to watch for everyone, regardless of their experience within the sector. — Natalie Lynch, Grand Final convener
contestants to show what they’re made of in terms of their agricultural skills but we also want a spectacle. We want it to be awesome to watch for everyone, regardless of their experience within the sector.”
The contest was based on four pillars – agri-skills, agri-business, agrisports and agri-knowledge.
The seven regions are Northern, Waikato Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Taranaki Manawatu¯ , Tasman, Aorangi and Otago Southland, with more than 60 NZYF Clubs scattered from the top of the country to the bottom.
Northern’s 2022 FMG Young
Farmer of the Year was Tim Dangen, a beef farmer and calf rearer from Muriwai. In the Grand Final, he would be up against his brother-in-law, Chris Poole, who won the Waikato Bay of Plenty regional final.
NZYF events manager Staci Barnette said the FMG Young Farmer
of the Year grand finalists, and their families and supporters would also take part in an initiative with the Environmental Protection Agency, a contest sponsor.
“We wanted to give back to the community and volunteer in some way while also giving competitors some quality time with their families to regroup before the evening show where nerves are pretty high.
“Sustainability is a huge part of the contest and making sure the primary industries are fit for the future. It’s pretty cool that our FMG Young Farmer of the Year 2022 grand finalists will be able to leave their own legacy in Whangarei.”
The FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest series would not be possible without support from its family of sponsor: FMG, Ravensdown, Worksafe, Ministry for Primary Industries, Environmental Protection Authority, Honda, STIHL, Massey University, Lincoln University, New Holland, and PTS Logistics. ■