Judges in the Silver Fern Farms Hawke's Bay Farmer of the Year contest will by today have a good idea as to who's going to win when the big announcement is made at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds Events Centre in Hastings next Thursday.
Central North Island farmer Peter Keeling has spent the last two days visiting those in the running, and touring the properties.
It's no summer holiday, according to competition committee chairman, former winner and Hawke's Bay A&P Society immediate past president Peter Tod, who says the judges first had to study the stack of paperwork farmers submitted with their entries.
The entrants had to open their operation to the scrutiny of the judges, including financial and stock records, and almost every secret purported to be helping make a success of the businesses.
Next week's function, for which tickets are still available, also includes the presentation of the Laurie Dowling Memorial Award for outstanding service to farming, the Hawke's Bay A&P Lawson Robinson Scholarship, and the Hawke's Bay Farm Forester of the Year.