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.
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
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