End of the line for Fitz-Herbert

Pete Fitz-Herbert competing at the 2016 regional finals of the Young Farmer of the Year contest.

Hunterville farmer Pete Fitz-Herbert has missed out on the top prize at the FMG Young Farmer of the Year grand final.

The Taranaki/Manawatu regional winner finished sixth with Canterbury's Athol New crowned champion at an awards ceremony on Saturday night.

For 30-year-old Mr Fitz-Herbert it was his last shot at the competition which he becomes ineligible for next year.

It was his eighth year in the competition and second national grand final. He finished 5th in last year.

The sheep and beef farmer said things didn't fall his way at the grand final in Timaru over the weekend.

The quiz, early on in the competition, was his strongest round but he struggled in some of the others.

"You can spend days or weeks studying stuff and they it just doesn't come up eh?" he said.

He said he would probably be roped into helping future young farmers in some way and that he'd be keen to give back to a competition which had given him a lot over the years.

"But that's the end of my young farmer years," he said.

"It's everything pretty much. I've developed a whole heap of skills because I learned them for this competition.

"I utilise most of them in farming life. I recommend it to anyone, there's no doubt about that. It's a great way to push yourself."