Andrew Wiffen successfully defends Tasman FMG Young Farmer of the Year title

West Coast dairy farmer Andrew Wiffen is in the running to be crowned the 50th FMG Young Farmer of the Year.

The 30-year-old has been named the Tasman FMG Young Farmer of the Year for the second year in a row.

He took out the title after winning the hotly-contested Tasman Regional Final in Christchurch tonight.

The event saw eight finalists tackle a series of gruelling modules, including a fast-paced agri-knowledge quiz.

It was his seventh regional final.

“I’m stoked to be heading to grand final again. It’s an amazing experience,” Andrew told the crowd at Innovation Hall in Templeton.

“It’ll be a chance for me to rectify errors I made last year.”

The 50:50 sharemilker from the Grey Valley placed third in the 2017 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final in Feilding.

This year’s contest is being held in Invercargill in July.

“I’d love to be the 50th FMG Young Farmer of the Year, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work to reach that goal,” he said.

The keen white baiter plans to work on his fitness and hone his strategy ahead of the prestigious event.

Andrew won almost $12,000 worth of prizes, including an XR150 Honda farm bike.

He also took out the coveted Ravensdown Agri-Skills Challenge, AGMARDT Agri-Business Challenge and the Meridian Energy Agri-Knowledge Challenge.

Second place went to Jono Satterthwaite, who runs a 1,048-hectare dry stock farm at Culverden.

It was his first regional final.

Dunsandel-based farm consultant Simon Ferguson took out third place and the Massey University Agri-Growth Challenge.

Oxford dry stock and cropping farmer Roscoe Taggart won the Agri-Sports Challenge.

Livestock Improvement Corporation farm solutions manager Vanessa Robinson took out the award for highest placing female contestant.

The Young Farmer of the Year is an iconic agricultural contest which began in 1969.

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