George Dodson on Efficiency and Low-Cost Dairy Farming
Efficiency is the big one because it tracks back into what is done on farm.
Mark Wallace of Puketoi has taken out the title of East Coast FMG Young Farmer of the Year.
The 30-year-old is a farm worker on a sheep, beef and cropping farm, having previously spent five years as a veterinarian.
The Regional Final was held on Saturday at Russell Park in Waipukurau.
Wallace says he was thankful to the convening committee for putting on the event.
“You put a really good day on, there was something for everyone out there,” he says.
He also thanked a number of people who helped him along the way.
“A special thanks to all the competitors, everyone was really good at something, I certainly wasn’t the best in the practical side there was some great fencing out there. And I’m appreciating the massive irony in winning this trophy with a gate when I couldn’t even get the gate on.”
Ahead of the grand final, Wallace says he will be focusing on improving his practical skills.
The contest is based on four pillars – agri-skills, agri-business, agri-sports and agri-knowledge.
The FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest Series is sponsored by FMG, Ravensdown, Worksafe, MPI, Environmental Protection Authority, Honda, STIHL, Massey University, Lincoln University, New Holland and PTS Logistics.
Three men have been sentenced in District Courts after Ministry for Primary Industries prosecutions over animal welfare, food safety and cattle tracing offences.
Fonterra’s 2026 financial year was a year of delivery, with record volumes of milk collected, processed and shipped by the co-op.
OPINION: The Government's decision to reinstate agriculture and horticultural science as a standalone subject from Year 11 is the right one.
Dairy farmers, still holding onto their Fonterra shares despite switching milk supply elsewhere or exiting the industry, now face a stricter share sell-down requirement.
Hamilton-based agritech company Aimer Farming has completed a $3 million capital raise to support its next stage of growth, including a beef farming product due to launch in 2027.
When dairy manager Miriam Lauridsen learned the farm, she was joining held weekly health and safety meetings, she initially thought that was “a bit over the top”. Experiencing that culture changed her mind.

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