Central North Island’s best Young Farmers prepare to ‘give everything they’ve got’ at Grand Final

Pirongia dairy farmer, Emma Poole, is set to represent the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Region at next week’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final. Photo / Supplied

A Pirongia dairy farmer is putting her best foot forward in a final attempt to claim victory as New Zealand’s top young farmer.

Held over three days this week, the prestigious competition, now in its 55th year, will see seven Grand Finalists battle it out for the coveted title of FMG Young Farmer of the Year and $90,000 worth of prizes.

28-year-old Emma Poole will represent the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Region at next week’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final in Timaru.

Emma said that after months of preparation, she’s “beyond excited” to compete.

When Emma walks to the calf sheds in the morning, the first thing she sees is Mount Pirongia. Beau, her one-year-old son, is strapped onto her front to help with the day’s first task. Chris, her husband, has already started his.

“We’re lucky we farm right under the mountain,” she said in a statement, “Up on the hill is where our runoff with young stock is, and our dairy farms are at the base. So, that big mountain is in the background of every scene.”

Emma and Chris look after a 720-cow farm, splitting calving between autumn and spring and rearing an additional 1,000 calves, alongside milking. Emma loves to use her vetting skills when she can, and does a bit of embryo work for breeding too.

Emma, one of five siblings, was first introduced to farming on her parents’ Muriwai dairy farm. She and her brother Tim would kick around the paddocks and wool sheds, lending a hand to their parents.

Now a Grand Finalist for the second time, Emma gives credit to her upbringing for setting her up with the skills she has today.

Tim Dangen, her older brother, was crowned last season as FMG Young Farmer of the Year. Her husband competed against him last year, too. “It’s safe to say we’re pretty competitive in our family,” said Emma.

This season, Emma is going for gold as this Grand Final is her last shot.

“At 28, I haven’t aged out of Young Farmers. But I knew, even if I hadn’t won the Regional Final, it would probably be my last crack. We’ll just be busy with other farming things and our family from here on out, so I want to give the Grand Final my best.”

Competing head-to-head with 15 other contestants, Emma was announced as the winner of the Waikato Bay of Plenty FMG Young Farmer of the Year in March of this year after spending the weekend competing at the Morrinsville A&P Show.

The first day saw the young farmers tested on technical modules that challenged work safety, farming techniques, and agricultural theory.

Saturday saw a physical challenge, where contestants proved their solution and stamina by lifting haybales, herding sheep, and building a fence.

One thing Emma wants to work on for the Grand Final is her fitness. She said in a statement she wants to prove a woman can do the ‘men’s jobs’ and more.

She said in a statement, “If I do win it, I want it to be a good, strong fair contest, and I want people to look at it and think, ‘that was a really fair display of farming out there’”.

“Whatever happens, I hope to be an inspiration for other people and other young women wanting to enter the industry.

“Being my last competition, I’ve decided to just enjoy it because I know I’m not going to get to come back and do this again. Once you start entering this contest it becomes an itch you can’t really stop until you’ve finished the job. You’ve just got to be gracious and accepting of what comes your way, regardless of the result at the end of the day.”

If Emma wins the title she’ll be handed the trophy by her brother.

Pukeatua Primary School pupils Regan Hemingway, Chloe Bowers and Quintin Stockholmes will also compete for a national title. As representatives of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Region, they’ll compete against 60 other primary-aged students from across Aotearoa in the Agrikids NZ category.

Pukeatua Primary School pupils Chloe Bowers (left), Quintin Stockholmes and Regan Hemingway will also compete for a national title in Agrikids NZ category. Photo / Supplied

12-year-old Chloe is competing for the first time and is feeling “excited and nervous” about what lies ahead.

“We don’t know what kind of challenges we’re going to be faced with on the day, so we want to be prepared for everything,” Chloe said in a statement.

An additional 14 high-school teams, including one from St Peter’s Cambridge, will face off in a bid to become FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year.

Friday’s practical day at Winchester Showgrounds has a lot to offer spectators, said Grand Final convener Ashleigh Bell in a statement.

All 98 contestants will go head-to-head in a series of practical and theoretical challenges as well as several modules involving big machinery, building, livestock and more.

“We want contestants to be really challenged at this event. These competitors are incredibly talented, so we don’t want them gliding through it. They’re going to have to give everything they’ve got to prove they’ve got what it takes to be crowned New Zealand’s best,” Ashleigh said in a statement.

The AgriKids NZ and FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year contestants will have their awards ceremony on Friday night, but the fate of the seven FMG Young Farmer of The Year Grand Finalists won’t be decided until after the famous buzzer quiz on Saturday evening.

New Zealand Young Farmers chief executive Lynda Coppersmith said in a statement picking a winner is anyone’s guess.

“This event is going to be phenomenal to watch. The talent is out of this world, proof that the future of farming in Aotearoa is bright.”

The FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest series would not be possible without its family of sponsors FMG, Ravensdown, WorkSafe, Environmental Protection Authority, Ministry for Primary Industries, Milwaukee, Honda, Lincoln University, Massey University, PTS Logistics, New Holland and Bushbuck.