It is back to reality for The National Bank Young Farmer Contest winner, as he trades his tuxedo for his work boots, and that is something he is quite happy about.
"It will be nice to go back to doing some normal work ... to be honest," he said yesterday.
Mr McNaughton (26), who won the title in Gore on Saturday night after three days of competition, was representing the Tasman region.
Gore sheep and beef farmer Peter Gardyne, representing Otago-Southland, was second, while South Canterbury sheep and beef farmer Andrew Scott, representing Aorangi, was third.
For the second consecutive year, Lincoln University graduates filled the top three places.
Mr McNaughton recently moved back to North Otago and works as a private agricultural consultant, farms a 4500 stock unit property in partnership with his parents, Ian and Dianne, and also has dairy investments.
He recalled watching the Young Farmer Contest on television as a "wee fella" and always dreamed of competing.
He was a grand finalist in 2007 and narrowly missed out on a spot in the grand final last year to eventual champion Tim O'Sullivan.
While it was hard to describe his feelings over winning the title, Mr McNaughton said it was "awesome" and there was a huge sense of achievement.
There had been a "massive" amount of work involved in preparing for the competition and there was a sense of relief it was over.
There was also a sense of responsibility to give back and promote Young Farmers as an organisation and the Young Farmer Contest as an avenue for people to test their skills against others in the industry, he said.
Mr McNaughton had always focused on "doing the small things right" in the competition and believed if he did those well, the result would come as a matter of course.
Yesterday was spent doing interviews, catching up with friends and family and saying farewells to the other six contestants before heading home to North Otago.
Mr McNaughton won $102,590 worth of prizes, including a Hyundai Santa Fe vehicle valued at $55,990.
