History repeats itself in Northland

History repeats itself in Northland

David Kidd is the fourth Grand Finalist to be named in the 2014 ANZ Young Farmer Contest.

The thirty year old sheep and beef farm manager of Shelley Beach took first place at the Northern Regional Final at the Kaikohe Showgrounds over the weekend, Saturday 15 March.

Thirty years after Mr Kidd’s father, Richard Kidd, became a Grand Finalist David is following in his footsteps. Richard placed third (on count back) in the 1984 Timaru Grand Final representing the Northern Region. “I don’t remember it, but I was at that Grand Final and it was my first Young Farmers experience,” said Mr Kidd.

It was a strong group of competitors that were put through their paces battling not only each other, but the elements as well. “The weather made things a little more exciting than anyone was hoping for, and it was a tight competition at the end of the day,” commented Mr Kidd.

Mr Kidd also took out the out the AGMARDT Agri-business Challenge while the other three challenges - Lincoln University Agri-growth, Silver Fern Farms Agri-sport and Ravensdown Agri-skills - were won by second place getter and 2013 Grand Finalist Ian Douglas of the Whangarei Club.

Angus Thomas, Franklin Club, placed third and Douglas McGregor, Bay of Islands Club, placed fourth.

Mr Douglas was dominating the competition throughout the day but by the evening Mr Kidd took the lead in the question round and secured the top spot by 13 points.

“I was surprised to win by that many points, and am thrilled with the result,” he commented.

“It was exciting to be in the running when there were four of us left,” he said.

“The competition offers the chance to benchmark myself against my peers across the wider agricultural industry,” Mr Kidd commented. The most challenging aspects of the competition for Mr Kidd were the dairy and the shearing modules.
In preparation Mr Kidd tried to do as many practical tasks on the farm as he could and says his main focus was on the evening show and quiz questions. “There was plenty of study beforehand,” he said.

Mr Kidd relied on friends, family and neighbours to help prepare and says his fiancée, Janine, was his biggest support throughout all of it. The two are getting married at the end of April.

Mr Kidd holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and when he is not busy on the farm he enjoys sports, shooting and working on training his work dogs.

He went home with a prize pack worth over $10,000 including cash, scholarships and products and services from ANZ, Lincoln University, Ravensdown, AGMARDT, Silver Fern Farms, Honda, Husqvarna and Vodafone.

Mr Kidd is off to the Grand Final in Christchurch, 3-5 July where he will battle it out for the Champion’s title and over $300,000 in prizes. So far, Mr Kidd is the only first time Grand Finalist in this competition.

Be sure to tune in to ‘Road To The Young Farmer Final’. The series covers each of the seven Regional Finals and follows the seven top achievers who make it through to the Grand Final. Catch all the action starting Sunday 18th May, 9.30pm exclusively on TVNZ Heartland.

For more information visit www.youngfarmers.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media