Glenanthony Yale did what he was sent to do when he secured the Royal Show's Manawatu Meat and Wool Cup for Central Hawke's Bay simmental breeder Tony Thompson.
The 1.5-tonne prize bull was one of more than 20 cattle, including heifers and calves, entered in the varying categories of the December 6-8 show by Mr Thompson's team.
Returning to Waipukurau with more than 30 ribbons, he led a near clean sweep of events in which the cattle were entitled to be entered, and he found himself in the unique position of winning the Meat and Wool Cup trophy "back-to-back" at royal shows in Manawatu.
He had also won the trophy Meat and Wool Cup when the Royal Show had last been held in Manawatu, at the Palmerston North Showgrounds, in 2002.
Further blowFarmers in Canterbury are reeling from another blow, after a localised hail storm tore its way through the Mayfield area of Mid-Canterbury. Federated Farmers Mid-Canterbury grain and seed chairman David Clark says some face a "financial nightmare" after Monday's storm.