Aorangi Young Farmer of the Year, Peter O'Connor. Photo / Supplied
Aorangi Young Farmer of the Year, Peter O'Connor. Photo / Supplied
Peter O’Connor has been crowned the Aorangi FMG Young Farmer of the Year and will compete against his brother Nick in the Grand Final.
It was O’Connor’s fourth attempt at a Grand Final position, and he was over the moon to take out the top spot.
“It’s pretty satisfying to get the win, particularly after my brother got through the other weekend – it’s a relief to join him at the Grand Final,” he said.
The 24-year-old farm manager competed in a range of agricultural-based challenges at the Ashburton A&P Showgrounds on Saturday, followed by a buzzer quiz on Saturday evening.
O’Connor said he prepared well for this year’s regional final, but the competition always had unknown challenges.
“It’s hard not knowing how you’ve gone in anything throughout the day. You might feel like you’ve done a module well, but it’s hard to know how the judges will interpret what you’ve done.
“Going back through old regional final questions and talking to more people really paid off.”
A competition highlight was the head-to-head round where contestants work side by side with just 30 minutes to complete tasks that mimicked a “day in the life” of a farmer.
Starting in a sleeping bag, contestants had to get dressed in overalls and gumboots, untangle a reel, crush grapes (water balloons), reassemble a Milwaukee chainsaw, weigh vegetables, chop wood and toss a gumboot to finish it off.
“It was a great way to finish off the practical challenges and it felt great to finish first,” O’Connor said.
While he had yet to plan his grand final approach, as a dairy farmer on a 400-cow operation, O’Connor knew he’d have to brush up on his sheep knowledge.
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview the voice of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest, Te Radar, about the Aorangi regional final below:
“I’m going to need to polish up on that and my shearing skills. I’ll be working on broadening my knowledge as much as I can as there are a lot of different things you can get asked.”
When asked if it will be a team effort for the O’Connor family in preparing for July’s final, he said some things will be kept under wraps.
“We’ll probably try and do some prep together but I’m not sure what Nick’s thoughts on that are! We’ll probably help each other out a bit, but not show a full hand,” he laughed.
Aorangi Young Farmer of the Year, Peter O'Connor (centre) with James Bell in second place, and Jess Cunliffe who came third. Photo / Supplied
James Bell from Glenavy Young Farmers placed second, with Jess Cunliffe from Pendarves Young Farmers securing the final spot on the podium.
Meanwhile, the next generation of young farmers also took part in Saturday’s competition, with Jack Foster and James Clark taking out the title of Aorangi FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year for the second year in a row.
The Waihi Stags made up of Cameron Siegert, Leo Acland and Jack Foley from Waihi School were the Aorangi AgriKidsNZ winners.
Ruby Shortus and Maddie Matthews from Waimate High School placed second in the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year Competition.
Runner-up and third in the AgriKidsNZ contest were Team Legendairy made up of Flynn Wallace, Charlie Clark and Georgia Heaven from Mt Somers Springburn and the Big Bulls made up of Santi Zimmermann, Fergus Lane and Cameron Lane from Waimate High School.
They have also been invited to July’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final.
New Zealand Young Farmer Board Chair Jessie Waite said this year’s Grand Final was shaping up to be one of the best yet.
“We’re starting to get a glimpse of the impressive array of skills and talent coming through with the next generation of young farmers. There’s so much happening right now in the primary sector with science, innovation and new technologies. The future of farming is certainly bright.”
Waite was thankful for the support of volunteers and sponsors who continued to back the event, year after year.
“The contest wouldn’t be what it is today without them. There’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes – from coming up with ideas for the competition to supplying the equipment needed on the day and helping with the set-up of the event. We’re so grateful to everyone who has played a part”.
