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Lincoln University student Nick O’Connor is heading to the national grand final as the new Tasman Young Farmer of the Year winner.
The chairman of the Lincoln Young Farmers Club will meet up with the other six finalists in Timaru in July after leading the field in the regional competition at the Amuri A&P Showgrounds.
Mr O’Connor grew up on his family’s 600-cow dairy farm in Westport and is in his third year studying for a bachelor of agriculture degree at Lincoln University.
Heading into the competition he was aiming for a top-three position and bettered this by overshadowing runner-up Archie Woodhouse by half a point. Waimakariri Young Farmers Club member George Watson (30) was third.
Originally from Westport, Mr O’Connor was still coming to terms with being named the overall winner.
"After winning the agri-knowledge challenge, I knew I had gained some ground, but it was still pretty crazy to have my name announced as the winner," he said.
He said the head-to-head contest was the best part of the competition.
Contestants had 30 minutes to install a strainer post, identify six plants, run to the end of the field, strop down a large truckload of hay, sprint back to the start and finish off by blowing up and popping a balloon.
"Going flat out and giving it your all was really fun. They were the perfect amount of challenge, and you had to be a bit strategic in deciding whether you were going for speed or quality," he said.
Mr O’Connor said he would enjoy the win before mapping out his approach for the final.
"At this stage, I will be talking to as many people as I can from across the industry, and I know I need to work on the quality and speed of my fencing."
So far the regional finalists include Taranaki/Manawatu’s Mac Williams, Waikato/Bay of Plenty’s Emma Poole, East Coast’s Patrick Crawshaw, and Otago/Southland’s Hugh Jackson with the Aorangi finalist to be named on Saturday and the Northern representative on April 29.
St Bede’s College’s Michael Blunt and Zander McCloy were the Tasman Junior Young Farmers of the Year, while Tabitha White and Mikayla Molloy from Rangi Ruru Girls’ School were runners-up.
The trio of Jack Wells, Lara Stubbs and Sophie Robinson from Tihiraki North Loburn School were the Tasman AgriKidsNZ winners with Seddon School’s Huw Cotching, George McLane, and Toby Hamilton runners-up.
New Zealand Young Farmers board chairwoman Jessie Waite said the grand final was shaping up to be one of the best yet with a field of talented and skillful young farmers.
