Tararua’s top shepherd decided
Connor McIntyre shines as stock drafting, fencing and dog skills tested, writes
The Tararua Shepherd of the Year was announced at a function at Tui HQ, on Thursday, April 28, with four finalists attending: Dougal Ross, Dominic Stolten, James Watson and Connor McIntyre.
First, the runner-up was announced, Dougall Ross, then the winner, Connor McIntyre. He was congratulated by last year’s winner, Kit Holmes, who had competed against Connor in last year’s Shepherd of the Year competition.
“Farming is about looking forward, advancing, adapting, progressing and perfecting,” said Kit.
The competition was developed by the committee running the Tararua Farm Business of the Year in 2013. The committee members saw an opportunity to create a competition that recognised excellence in farming.
The competition was set up with a view to promote and encourage development of our young shepherds and to promote shepherding as a career opportunity.
“The ADB Williams Trust was approached to sponsor the initial competition and willingly threw its support behind the competition given it aligned with the trust’s vision to encourage and support pathways for young people in the farming sector,” said organiser Jed Murphy.
The competition has benefited from continued support from the trust, which has been the principal sponsor each year it has been held. In 2019 the committee members decided to refresh the format and began holding an on-farm judging day at Pukemiro Station, where the contestants competed by showcasing their skills in a series of practical modules and participating in an interview to lay out their career pathway and future plans.
“This year we held the ninth annual TSOTY competition at Pukemiro Station on March 6, where four contestants lined up from across the district (Herbertville, Alfredton, Otope and Papatawa),” said Jed.
Judges included committee members and staff from Pukemiro Station. The contestants completed a beef module testing their skills with working dogs, one huntaway and one heading dog assisting them to muster heifers into the yards.
Contestants were then asked to draft prime heifers from a mob by eye, estimate their yield and process the balance of the mob by weighing and drenching to an appropriate weight before filling out an Animal Status Declaration form to prepare for loading. Knowledge of the schedule and grading system was tested, all while trying to complete the task within a set timeframe.
In the sheep section, their workingdog skills were again on show, mustering a mob of replacement ewes hoggets into the yards, and counting a cut of the mob before running through them with a finetooth comb to select the best 15 to retain as breeding replacements.
Competitors were asked to justify their selection and their knowledge was tested around hogget- mating best practice and comparing against ewe flock practices.
The final practical challenge was a fencing test where they were tasked with running two wires along a line, tying off with various knots, straining to the correct tension and digging a line post in the middle of the line.
“This was a tough challenge given the stony soil but gave the contestants an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to problemsolve and work under time pressure,” said Jed.
“Judges were impressed with the calibre of the skills displayed and found that each contestant had a strong performance, winning at least one section each, making for a tight contest overall. Contestants enjoyed their day and were treated to some fine hospitality from the team at Pukemiro.”
Judges made a point of capturing specific feedback which help the contestants on their career pathway. Contestants competed for a total prize pool of around $5000 with a mix of cash and product.