ACC backs young farmers with FMG Young Farmer of the Year partnership
The Government has announced that ACC will be a sponsor of this year's FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition.
Around 800 people are getting ready to head to Whangārei for the three-day FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final.
Held from 7 to 9 July, seven FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Finalists, 28 FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year competitors and 63 AgriKidsNZ competitors from across the country will battle it out for their respective national titles.
They are the top contestants from their regions, having qualified in Regional Finals held earlier this year. Senior competitors had to qualify for the Regional Finals through District Contests held in September last year.
Alongside the Grand Final, the New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) Tournament Series finals will bring in 47 competitors plus judges (seven fencing teams competing in pairs, 20 Stock Judges and 13 Clay target shooters).
The Final marks the biggest event series in the NZYF calendar.
Grand Final convener Natalie Lynch says the team is looking forward to showcasing the best of Northland’s agriculture industry and showing off the region to the NZYF community.
"We've kept two things at the forefront of our minds when planning and that was wanting to challenge our contestants to show what they're made of in terms of their agricultural skills, but we also want a spectacle. We want it to be awesome to watch for everyone, regardless of their experience within the sector," Lynch says.
She says everything will have a bit of a ‘Northland flavour’ this year.
"A lot of people involved in Northland's sector are wearers of many hats, so there will be no straight farming skillset required on the day. There will be lots of different challenges contestants will have to face that relate to our industry, not exclusively on-farm."
"We really encourage everyone to come down and watch, there truly be something for everyone. We can't wait to showcase the best and brightest of Young Farmers and Whangārei."
Zespri's sales of kiwifruit for the 2025 season have broken all past records.
Trainee orchard manager Luke St John has won the Central Otago 2026 Young Grower regional title.
James Blair, an agronomist for AS Wilcox, has won the 2026 Pukekohe Young Grower regional title.
Fifty-eight selected individuals, companies, and start-ups will exhibit their ideas and cutting-edge solutions at the 2026 Fieldays Innovation Awards, with Amazon Web Services (AWS), who joins the programme in 2026 as overall sponsor.
A rare piece of New Zealand adventure history will be on display at this year’s Fieldays, with a pair of socks worn by the late Sir Edmund Hillary to take pride of place at the Norsewear site this June.
This month's National Fieldays will again display a strong international flavour, with more exhibitors and overseas delegations in attendance.

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