Waikato/Bay of Plenty Young Farmers to be put to the test

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Young Farmers to be put to the test in FMG Young Farmer of the Year Regional Final

The second FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Finalist will be determined this weekend, Saturday 27 Februaryat the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional Final held in Huntly.

“This contest season is shaping up to be very impressive after a fantastic Regional Final in Pukekohe last weekend. Every year the calibre of contestants continues to impress,” says Terry Copeland, Chief Executive of New Zealand Young Farmers – organisers of the event.

The eight finalists are contending for a spot at the Grand Final in Timaru 7 – 9 July and their share of an impressive prize pack worth over $162,700 of products, services and scholarships from FMG, Massey University, Meridian Energy, Silver Fern Farms, AGMARDT, Ravensdown, Honda, STIHL and Vodafone.

“The support from sponsors and the community is invaluable, they are not only supporting the Contest, but the future of agriculture and together with Young Farmers we are driving the industry forward,” said Mr Copeland.

The Waikato Regional Final will see an outstanding group of contenders (under the age of 31) come together for what will be a full on day of practical, physical and theoretical challenges at Hillside Station near Huntly, beginning at8am. The Practical Day events will be followed by a ticketed evening quiz-show held at Huntly College at 6pm.

Sophia Clark is an ex-sheep and beef farmer turned dairy farmer. The 27 year old lower order sharemilker is based on a 800 cow farm in Cambridge. Sophia has competed at Regional Final level once before. She wanted to compete again to “show the blokes that girls can do anything and be serious competitors”. In her spare time Sophia likes to spend time in the garden and settling down with a good book.

Calvin Ball, 25, has been involved at all levels of Young Farmers since 2009. Calvin works in strategy and business planning for Ballance Agri-Nutrients, before this he was a fertiliser representative for the company. Competing in the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final is on Calvin’s ‘bucket list’, a goal he is serious about reaching. If he does not make it to the 2016 Grand Final Calvin is off to Europe for his ‘OE’. In his free time Calvin enjoys hunting, diving and tramping.

Guy Bakewell took second place in the 2015 Northern Regional Final. The 28 year old milk harvester is now in his sixth year with Young Farmers. He says while he originally entered the Contest to win himself a chainsaw he quickly saw the benefit of competing in the Contest each year to test himself and learn new skills. In his free time Guy enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with family.

Alex Griffin, 30, has only been a part of Young Farmers for three years but in that time he has set about taking every opportunity the organisation has to offer. This is Alex’s second term as Vice-Chair for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region, in his last year being eligible to compete in the Contest Alex wanted to tick off the FMG Young Farmer of the Year. Alex is currently 50:50 sharemilking on the family farm which has been in the Griffin family for 100 years. Alex takes over the farm when his father retires in June.

Zara Cosh, 23, is a familiar face on the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Young Farmers scene. Zara has been a part of Young Farmers for six years and has competed in the Contest five times, this is her first attempt at Regional Final level. Zara enjoys the variety of the Contest and the opportunity to learn about other sectors. Zara has been dairy farming for five years and is currently working on a 200 cow property in the Taupiri area.

Gavin Wolfe is a 23 year old farm manager from Huntly. This self-taught farmer manages one of two family properties in the bull leasing business. While Gavin has been a part of Young Farmers for several years this is his first time competing in the Contest, he believes his competitive nature will give him the edge to win. In his spare time Gavin enjoys hunting and motorbike trail rides.

Wayne Hofmann, 29, is a seasoned competitor at the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest. In his fourth attempt at Regional Final level, Wayne enjoys learning new skills while competing as well as honing existing ones. Wayne works on a 50 hectare property in Waihi which runs 130 cows. Wayne is a familiar face on the Young Farmers scene having been involved with the organisation for 11 years.

James Bryan, 30, is competing for the third time at Regional Final level. James is an agronomist for Ravensdown; he has been in this role for several years, before that he worked in Japan running sheepdog shows. This is James’ last year of being able to compete in the Contest; he enjoys the challenge of the Contest however his main motivator is to finish with a better result than his twin brother Sam who is competing in the Aorangi Regional Final.

Also in the midst of the action are the future Young Farmers – the AgriKidsNZ and TeenAg competitions will be running alongside the FMG Young Farmer of the Year.

Further details and Evening Show tickets are available from www.youngfarmercontest.co.nz

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