Woodville to be centre stage for next Regional Final

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14/02/2013

Woodville to be centre stage for next Regional Final

The East Coast Regional Final is sure to be a crowd pleaser with eight skilful participants on show for Saturday 23rd February at the Woodville Recreation Grounds and the Regent Theatre for the Evening Show.

The entrants will be contending for a spot at the prestigious Grand Final in Auckland 16 - 18 May this year. They will also be competing for their share of the Regional Final prize pool valued at nearly $13,000, which includes cash components from ANZ and AGMARDT, a Lincoln University Scholarship, and products from Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms, Honda, and Husqvarna. The top prize is worth an impressive $9,000.

On show is a wide cross section of contenders with varied backgrounds coming from all parts of the East Coast Region. The youngest of the group is twenty-two year old Isaac Kelson from the South Wairarapa Young Farmers Club. Isaac works as a second in command herd manager in Kahutara.

Isaac’s fellow Club member is Bernie Cox, 25, a first time competitor and lower order sharemilker in Carterton Wairarapa.

Third time is a charm for Edward Bell, 28, of the Eskview Young Farmers Club; this will be his third time partaking in Regional Finals. Edward manages a lease block for the family business in Waipawa and has been an active member with Young Farmers for eight years.

Another Eskview Young Farmers Club member is Tim Fairweather, 23. A senior shepherd at Arohiwi Station, he is a first time competitor at Regional Finals. Tim is also an avid Muay Thai kick boxer. He competed for the national title in 2011 and won the north island title in 2011.

Also competing is Josh Rofe, 25, a stock manager from central Hawkes Bay and the Treasurer for Tikokino Young Farmers Club.

This will be Michelle Brown’s second time at Regional Finals; in her first experience she found herself head to head competing against her husband, Duncan. The thirty year old is a farmer near Pongaroa and a long-time member of the Ballance Club.

Up for the challenge is Aaron Passey, 30, Chairman of the Ballance Young Farmers Club. Aaron works as a dairy farmer in Tararua District.

The last, but not the least of the contestants is thirty year old Sully Alsop from the Wairarapa Young Farmers Club. Sully works as sheep and beef farm consultant and his latest claim to fame is winning the hairdressing component at District Finals against four females. He placed third at last year’s Regional Final.

Taking place alongside the Regional Finals are the AgriKidsNZ and TeenAg Competitions – where the younger generation of participants will be competing for their chance at the Grand Final in Auckland 16 - 18 May. The top three teams from each Competition will have the opportunity to progress through.

If you miss the action at the Regional Final you can catch it on the ‘Road To The Young Farmer Final’. The series, hosted by Mark Leishman, follows the seven Regional Finals and covers the seven top achievers who make it through to the Grand Final. Exclusive to TVNZ Heartland watch all the drama on the ‘Road To The Young Farmer Final’ starting Sunday 31 March 2013 8.30pm.

For more information head to www.youngfarmercontest.co.nz

ENDS

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