INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Darfield Tyres - Same Staff, Same Great Service Pimm’s in the Park
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ISSUE 1,124 Friday 8th March 2024
A WIN FOR YOUNG FARMERS LOCAL A Darfield Young Farmer is one step closer to winning one of New Zealand’s most prestigious farming awards after being crowned the Season 56 Tasman FMG Young Farmer of the Year. George Dodson, 22, was announced as the Tasman FMG Young Farmer of the Year on Saturday evening, following two days of fierce competition in Christchurch. Now, he gears up to take on six other regional finalists in the ultimate showdown at the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final, being held in Hamilton in July. The weekend’s event was one of seven Regional Finals happening across Aotearoa between February and April. Details of what challenges would be thrown at them at the Tasman event were kept under wraps from the 22 determined contestants. The win comes as a shock to George, who was humbled by the achievement. “To be honest it hasn’t sunk in yet, it was such a shock, I
can’t really believe it to be honest!” says George. Originally from Southland, George is second in charge on a 430-cow dairy farm between Darfield and Dunsandel. This is his third time competing in the prestigious contest, and the first time he’s earned a place at the Grand Final. “The weekend was intense, there was definitely some stuff in there that was beneficial to me, and it was great that Saturday was practical based,” explains George. “The head-to -heads were a great challenge; I didn’t expect to be loading AI straws, so it was cool to be doing something different.” Seeing his name at the top of the leaderboard going into Saturday night’s buzzer quiz, George says the pressure came on. “When I saw that I was leading before the quiz, my family said I went pale white!” he says. “The pressure was on, but luckily I smashed the quickfire round so could settle into it a bit more after that.”
George is looking forward to competing at the Grand Final and is excited about testing himself against the best of the best. “I found the exam and some of the technical aspects of the weekend a bit of a challenge, so that’ll definitely be a focus for me in the lead-up to July.”
Winner of Season 56 Tasman FMG Young Farmer of the Year George Dodson on the podium with George Letham (Waihora/ Banks Peninsula YF) in second place and Eddie Millichamp (Lincoln YF) in third place.