Fifth Grand Finalist Confirmed in Young Farmer of the Year

Fifth Grand Finalist Confirmed in FMG Young Farmer of the Year

James Hoban is the fifth Grand Finalist to be named in the 2016 FMG Young Farmer of the Year.

James is a 30 year old Sheep and Dairy Support Farmer and Farm Environment Consultant who took first place at the Tasman Regional Final in Rangiora on 2 April

Mr Hoban went home with a prize pack worth over $10,000 including cash, scholarships and products and services from FMG, Massey University, Ravensdown, Meridian Energy, AGMARDT, Silver Fern Farms, Honda, STIHL and Vodafone. James also won the Massey University Agri-growth Challenge.

Winning back-to back Tasman Regional Finals, James looks to take out the FMG Young Farmer of the Year title in 2016, after placing 4th in the Grand Final in 2015.

The Grand Final will take place in Timaru, 7 – 9 July, where the 7 finalists will battle it out for the Grand Champion’s title. This year's Grand Final prize pack is $162,200.

The Tasman Regional Final featured a strong group of contestants with plenty of knowledge and talent on display, including Jack Archer, a 17 year old school student from Nelson. The eight contestants were put through their paces in a variety of challenging modules touching on all aspects of farming from practical hands-on tasks to theory and business components.

Second place went to Andrew Wiffen (28) from the Grey Valley Club, who also took out the Meridian Energy Agri-knowledge Challenge and Ravensdown Agri-skills Challenge.

Third place went to Karl Dean (26) also from the Dunsandel Club, who also won the Silver Fern Farms Agri-sports Challenge.

The AGMARDT Agri-business Challenge was won by Willis Ritchie.

Alongside the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Practical Day events New Zealand’s future farmers were in competition too in TeenAg and AgriKids competitions.

The top three teams from AgriKids and top two teams from TeenAg competitions will compete at the Grand Final in Timaru, 7- 9 July.

The TeenAg competition was taken out by Peter O’Connor and Joseph Anderson from St Bedes College.

The AgriKids competition was won by Josh Toase, Isabella Cross and Lucy Gillsenan from North Loburn School

The 2016 FMG Young Farmer of the Year features seven Regional Finals culminating in the Grand Final.

For more information visit www.youngfarmercontest.co.nz

ENDS

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