It was the fourth time the Clinton farmer had contested the Mobil Silver Plough competition, and a second placing on the first day and a third on the second day were enough for him to win his first title.
The event was held near Martinborough, Wairarapa, last weekend.
‘‘I'm not sure what I did. I'm nobody special,'' Mr McKenzie said.
In the build-up, the 34-year-old had spent plenty of time practising on his family's Hillfoot Rd farm and arrived at the Kahutara venue a week before the finals, to get some last-minute practice.
Mr McKenzie has been ploughing for five years, introduced to the sport by his Uncle Ray McKenzie, who initially farmed near Milburn and latterly in Central Southland.
He had dabbled in the sport at Young Farmers Club level but when Ray McKenzie lent him a tractor and plough to try his hand in competitions, he became hooked.
‘‘It's up to you whether you make it or break it.''
The camaraderie of the sport was another attraction.
The family grow about 30ha of cereal crops, on which Mr McKenzie gets to practise his ploughing, always leaving a little corner of the paddock a bit longer for his preparation.
The advent of non-tillage cropping and large-scale machinery operated by contractors, meant ploughing was a dying skill, but one he would fight to retain.
‘‘It's a very old art,'' he said.
In August next year, Mr McKenzie will head to Slovenia to represent New Zealand in the conventional ploughing section at the world finals, but before then it is back home for a couple of weeks, then off to Lincoln to qualify for the next national finals, in Timaru next year.
Malcolm Taylor, from Putaruru, will be the country's representative in the reversible plough section.
Mr McKenzie said the South Otago association would host the national finals in 2011.