After two gruelling days of competition Tim Van de Molen of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Region is the 2013 ANZ Young Farmer Contest Champion.

Cam Brown is the fourth Grand Finalist to be named for the 2013 ANZ Young Farmer Contest. He earned his win over the weekend, Friday, March 1, at the Taranaki/Manawatu Regional Final in Palmerston North held at the Railway Land and Awapuni Racecourse.

Tim van de Molen is the second Grand Finalist in 2013 after he won the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional Final for the ANZ Young Farmer Contest on Saturday, February 16 in Hamilton at St Paul's Collegiate School.

Ian Douglas, from the Whangarei Young Farmers Club, earned top place at the Northern Regional Final in Whangarei on Saturday, February 9, after a long day at the Barge Park Showgrounds.

The AgriKidsNZ Competition is about to launch into the regional finals stage around New Zealand and over 600 primary school children are in agreement that the regionals are the place to be.

Any increase in farmer confidence comes from the dairy sector and even that is off a low base. That is one of Federated Farmers' conclusions from its 2012/13 Mid-Season Farm Confidence Survey.

The first of seven finalists will be determined next weekend (starting February 9) as the Northern Region starts the 2013 Regional Finals for the ANZ Young Farmer Contest.

The District Finals are completed with the Regional Finalists found, and the anticipation is building for the next phase of ANZ Young Farmer Contest.

New Zealand Young Farmers is celebrating a milestone reaching over 2000 members.

Young Farmers from all over the country will be brushing up on their agricultural skills over the coming weeks as the 2013 season of The National Bank Young Farmer Contest kicks off on September 29 with the Christchurch District Final.