Hawke's Bay District Contest and Skills Day winner Hamish Best (centre), with Ben Thomas (left) and Hugh Abbiss. The three will compete in the East Coast Regional Final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year on April 1.
Hawke's Bay District Contest and Skills Day winner Hamish Best (centre), with Ben Thomas (left) and Hugh Abbiss. The three will compete in the East Coast Regional Final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year on April 1.
The East Coast Regional Final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year to be held in Waipukurau in April promises to be a punishing contest, with an outstanding field all looking to make their first grand final.
As part of the nationwide competition, 400 entrants take part in 22District Contest and Skills Day competitions, with 56 contestants going on to contest seven regional finals for Northern, Waikato-Bay of Plenty, Taranaki-Manawatu, East Coast, Tasman, Aorangi and Otago-Southland, which will be held from February to April next year.
Hawke's Bay district winner Hamish Best is a front-runner, having finished second in last year's regional final.
The 26-year-old PGG Wrightson technical field officer is studying hard in the lead up to the April final - particularly in practical tasks.
A Massey University graduate, Best holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree with Honours and is expected to be hard to beat in the technical component of the final.
However, Hugh Abbiss, the runner-up at the Hawke's Bay contest, will be tough competition.
The 24-year-old lamb and beef finishing manager is an endurance runner and will be physically and mentally tough when it comes to the pressure cooker that denotes a regional final.
Abbiss holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Majoring in Agriculture and has a wide range of experience including working on his parent's arable, sheep and beef farm in Feilding.
Third place winner Ben Thomas was not far behind Abbiss and showcased his practical skills.
The 25-year-old works as a 2IC at Rissington Station and holds a Primary ITO Diploma in Agriculture.
The three Hawke's Bay representatives will go up against Richard Cameron, Henry Reynolds (Wairarapa), Patrick Crawshaw, Daniel Tarbotton and Liam Kelly (Tararua) in the East Coast Regional Final to be held at Waipukurau on April 1 next year.
The seven regional winners will progress to the Grand Final at Manawatu in July 2017.
In 49 years only three females have ever made the grand final.
