Feminine touch for farming final

National Bank Young Farmer Contest finalist Katherine Tucker, of Wellsford, dresses her model,...
National Bank Young Farmer Contest finalist Katherine Tucker, of Wellsford, dresses her model, Mark Guscott, of Martinborough, at the competition launch in Dunedin yesterday. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Northland dairy farmer Katherine Tucker is not fazed by the extra pressure on her to win the National Bank Young Farmer Contest in Dunedin this week.

The 26-year-old, who lives and works on her family's dairy farm near Wellsford, would be the first female and first Northern representative to win the national competition grand final.

She is up against six male finalists from throughout New Zealand and is the third woman in the contest's history to qualify for a final place.

This year's 44th annual tournament officially begins today with technical tasks.

Miss Tucker said she probably had a different way of thinking than her male counterparts, but whether it was an advantage had yet to be seen.

She had not given much thought to her position as the third female finalist in the contest's history, but rather was focused on each task ahead.

Miss Tucker was raised on her parents' dairy farm, in which she bought shares and hopes to one day own. She helps manage the farm's 630 dairy cows and aims to carry the business into the future.

She competed at a regional level at three previous Young Farmer contests.

She was the New Zealand Young Farmers Kaipara club chairwoman and vice-chairwoman of the Northern region.

As well as farming, she enjoys dancing, horse riding, ice skating and reading, is a convener of a DairyNZ discussion group and judges calves at school agriculture days.

Yesterday, she and the other 2012 finalists were introduced to the Dunedin public at a preliminary event in the Wall Street mall.

They each had 10 minutes to create a costume for a model using wool sacks, newsprint, tape and plastic wrap.

Tomorrow, practical tests will be held at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, and on Saturday the competition ends with an evening show at the Edgar Centre.

Other finalists are Pete Gardyne (Otago/Southland), Andrew Scott (Aorangi), Michael Lilley (Tasman), Sam Williams (Waikato/Bay of Plenty), Tony Dowman (East Coast), and Brad Lewis (Taranaki/Manawatu).

- rosie.manins@odt.co.nz

 

Add a Comment