First-time contestant crowned Northland's best
A Franklin dairy farmer has inched closer to national victory after being crowned Northland’s top young farmer.
Four dairy farmers are among the seven finalists vying for the FMG Young Farmer of the Year title.
Waikato/Bay of Plenty’s Chris Poole, Tasman’s Jonny Brown, Otago/Southland’s Alex Field and Taranaki/Manawatu’s David Reesby will compete for the top title later this year.
For Waikato/Bay of Plenty’s Chris Poole, age 27, the competition is something of a family affair as his wife, Emma Dangen, was an FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Finalist in 2019.
Poole will also be competing against his brother-in-law, Tim Dangen, a sheep/beef farmer, in the 2022 Grand Final.
Tasman’s Jonny Brown manages a dairy farm for Dairy Holdings Ltd, which milks 1,300 cows, and has spent his career rising through the ranks of the industry.
Since graduating from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Agricultural Commerce and Land Valuation, the father of two has worked in contract milking and farm management mainly around the Canterbury region.
For Alex Field of Otago Southland, this marks the second time he has made it to the Grand Final.
Three years ago, in 2019, Field competed in the Grand Final, winning the award for outstanding leadership skills.
Taranaki Manawatu farmer David Reesby was named a grand finalist towards the end of March.
Reesby is second in charge at his family’s dairy farm near Oroua.
New Zealand Young Farmers chief executive Lynda Coppersmith has called the event series to-date a success.
The grand final event is scheduled to be held in Whangarei from the 7th to the 9th July.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.
OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.