Rangitikei farmers top local final

Rangitikei sheep and beef farmers took out the top two places in the Taranaki/Manawatu region final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest.

The competition was at the Manfeild event centre and Feilding Civic Centre on Saturday.

Pete Fitz-Herbert came first once again and will compete in the national finals at Timaru on July 7-9. He is 30 and from a Hunterville sheep and beef farm. It was his eighth time in the regional competition.

Fitz-Herbert got a $10,000 prize pack. He won the Agri-knowledge and Agri-growth challenges.

There were eight competitors in Feilding, and James Rogers who manages the family farm Koeke Estate west of Taihape came second. He is 30 and from the Marton Young Farmers Club. His prizes included $700 cash, account credits and products from Meridian Energy and Vodafone, a water pump and a $1000 Stihl voucher. He won the Agri-business challenge.

The third place went to 29-year-old Ray Hirst, from the Fitzherbert Young Farmers Club.