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March 2026 Edition
INSIDE
THIS EDITION Water scheme tour
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Winner: Sheep and beef farmer Bryce Win celebrates his victory in the Tasman regional final of New Zealand Young Famer of the Year competition.
Canterbury off to grand final The Canterbury based regional finals of the New Zealand Young Famer of the Year competition have produced two contenders for this year’s national finals to be held in New Plymouth in July.
] by Kent Caddick
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The FMG Young Farmer of the Year is a highlight in the rural calendar, with a track record of showcasing the rising stars in New Zealand’s food and fibre sector and setting the bar for excellence in agriculture. The Tasman regional final was held at the Courtenay A&P Showgrounds in Kirwee while Woodbury Domain, near Geraldine hosted the Aorangi regional final. Coldstream dairy farmer Jack Taggart is now in the running for national victory after being crowned Aorangi’s top young farmer. The 26-year-old Taggart from the Hinds Young Farmers club, clocked up the most points on the day with 292, defeating former grand finalist George Letham who finished up with a score of 280. James Wilson rounded out the final spot
on the podium after a day of competition. “It’s definitely been a long time coming, and I can’t quite believe it just yet,” Taggart said. The competition featured five challenges including the Agri-Sports competition and an intense ‘buzzer-style’ quiz which rewarded quick thinking. Each task was crafted to expose how well contestants could apply their practical skills and technical knowledge while working against the clock. The head-to-head and the Agri-sports were where Taggart really shined taking out these challenges with comfort and a lot of speed. The head-to-head featured the contestants making a bird house out of pallets which he breezed through with time to spare. Meanwhile sixth generation sheep and beef farmer Bryce Win from Upper Moutere is
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also heading to the grand final with a win in the Tasman regional final. Win, aged 29 and a member of the Tasman Valley Young Farmers club, secured the most points on the day with 272, ahead of Jack Dennehy-Coles (250.5) from Lincoln University and Sam Smithers (238.9) from the West Coast. Win’s reaction to his triumph in the final was one of both surprise and relief. “It’s just so surreal, I don’t know what to say. I’m getting married in a couple of weeks, I’m glad to get this one ticked off the list.” Win seemed calm under the pressure of the day moving from task to task, acing the headto-head challenge while having a lot of fun in the Agri-sports challenge which involved a series of small challenges, finishing with some lassoing of the bull they made during the head-to-head. TO PAGE 2