Jonny Brown did not quite nail it in the Young Farmer of the Year grand final but came close with a third. Photo / Supplied
Jonny Brown did not quite nail it in the Young Farmer of the Year grand final but came close with a third. Photo / Supplied
Dunsandel farmer Jonny Brown rates a third in the grand final a more than respectable result for his last stand in the Young Farmer of the Year competition.
The new contract milker for Dairy Holdings Limited did his Tasman district proud after trailing the winning Auckland beef farmer Tim Dangen and Waikato Bay of Plenty runner-up Chris Poole in Whāngarei.
This followed the 31-year-old father of two qualifying in his fourth and final attempt at the regional contest.
Brown said he was satisfied that he gave his all in the final, in his last shot before ageing out of the organisation.
"I was very happy and feel very content. My preparation was truly [on the short side] and I probably salvaged third. I was probably a bit of a burglar, to be honest."
As well as a young family, he had struggled with getting staff to set up his new contract milking role but was not using the distraction as an excuse.
In the lead-up to the event, he said he believed it only took a few pieces in the competition puzzle to fall into place for a good result and that was what happened.
"The quiz on Saturday night was just a rain of buzzers and you had to be quick. I had a couple of strategies and realised I was really in this and picked up 15 points in the quiz."
The competition for the seven grand finalists culminated in the Evening Show, when they went head-to-head in a buzzer quiz in front of a crowd of 650, racking up last-minute points before the winner was announced.
Brown said he really enjoyed the competition, but was relieved he could now concentrate on his day job.
Working with immigration authorities to get a full roster had been difficult, he said.
"I told them why I hadn't employed Kiwis because I can't find them.
"They came back and asked for more evidence, but the thing is if I could find a decent Kiwi they would get a job as I have 1300 cows to calve and need a hand.
"Anyone who can turn up to work, pass a drug test and care about health and safety would have a job, but I can't find them."
He had been operating the farm with two workers down, but that had not curbed his enthusiasm for running big operations.
Brown said the two competitors ahead of him deserved their place on the podium after he learned how much work they had put into preparing for the contest.
"It was a great way to finish my active membership with the organisation and I've got a huge amount out of it."
In 2020 he took a year off to travel the country with a cat and a two-year-old in a caravan with partner Shae Atkinson to take time out from farming.
On their return, he became a dairy farm manager in Bankside, milking 1300 cows on a Dairy Holdings Ltd farm.
That progressed last month to the couple taking over contract milking on the farm.
The low input system, saw them growing and harvesting as much grass as possible at the lowest cost to average 350 kilograms of milk per cow, a year.
Erin Humm and Amelia Ridgen win Junior Young Farmers of the Year competition
Christchurch Girls' High School's Erin Humm and Amelia Ridgen have become the second female pair to win the Junior Young Farmers of the Year competition. Photo / Supplied
Christchurch Girls' High School boarders Erin Humm and Amelia Ridgen gave girl power a boost after winning the Junior Young Farmers of the Year competition and taking home prizes worth more than $1700.
They became just the second female pair to win the title, also contested at Whāngarei.
The Tasman duo surfaced at the top after two days of competition and a final bid for points with the top four teams competing in a buzzer-style quiz.
Cameron Brans and Quinn Redpath from Napier Boys' High School were runners- up and ex-Southland Girls' High School pupils Tia Fowle and Renee Zwagerman were third.
"It's pretty cool that we're both girls," Humm, originally from Pigeon Bay, said.
"It's really empowering. It's a good boost to get into the industry and it's really encouraging," Ridgen, from Greendale, said.
Both planned to do an agri-science degree at Lincoln University when they leave school next year.
The Tasman Tykes' Hamish Webb, PJ Mackintosh and Annabelle Birchler, from North Loburn School, were runners-up in the AgriKidsNZ contest.
