Taranaki farmers nab remaining spots in Hawera final

MEDIA RELEASE

11th December 2016

Taranaki farmers nab remaining spots in Hawera final

The final two contestants have been decided for the prestigious FMG Young Farmer of the Year regional final.

James Lawn, 27, and Nick Brown, 29, finished first and second respectively at a district contest in Okato on Saturday.

Contestants did everything from erecting a fence, to identifying different feed and seeds and drive a tractor.

The event wouldn’t have been possible without the support of FMG, Farmlands, Cooks Honda, Okato Veterinary Clinic, ANZ, Power Farming, Mills Fencing, NRM, Ravensdown, J Swap, Silver Fern Farms and the Okato Bowls Club.

Mr Lawn, who’s spent the past two-and-a-half years travelling, is stoked to be heading to another regional final.

“It’s a good feeling to know that after so long travelling I still have some of the skills I learnt over the years,” Mr Lawn said.

“But it’s going to take a lot of preparation to get ready.”

“You can study for modules like the quiz and technical exam, but you can’t prepare for other things judges may throw at you,” he said.

Mr Lawn is currently helping run family dairy farms at Okato

It’ll be sheep and beef farmer Nick Brown’s second attempt at winning a regional final.

“Last year was the first time I competed. It’s good to be heading back there. I’m quite excited,” said Mr Brown, who’s the chairman of Central Taranaki Young Farmers.

“I’ll be using the next few months to work on areas where I felt I was weak last year.”

The regional final will take place at the TSB Hub in Hawera on Saturday 22nd April, 2017.

Eight contestants are vying to represent the Taranaki/Manawatu region in the prestigious national final in Fielding in July.

They are: Nick Brown, James Lawn, Isabel Tait, Michael McCombs, Blair Briscoe, Will Taylor, Nigel Will and Kieran McCahon.

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