Wallace wins Farmer title

It was second time lucky for Otago/Southland regional finalist Logan Wallace, who was named the Young Farmer of the Year in Invercargill on Saturday night.

Wallace, a sheep farmer from Waipahi in South Otago, beat six other contestants to win the competition, which is in its 50th year. He runs 2300 romney-texelcross ewes on a 290-hectare property, which he leases from his parents. He has a certificate in agriculture and a diploma in rural business from Telford, and is a Land Search and Rescue member.

The contestants visited a farm in Glenham on Wednesday before the first event of the competition, the technical day, starting on Thursday. Friday started with a fencing test under floodlights at Donovan Park. It was followed by a variety of other tasks, including a test on what to do when fallen powerlines land on machinery.

Wallace represented the Otago/Southland region at the national grand final in Timaru in 2016.