George Dodson on Efficiency and Low-Cost Dairy Farming
Efficiency is the big one because it tracks back into what is done on farm.
Mark Wallace of Puketoi has taken out the title of East Coast FMG Young Farmer of the Year.
The 30-year-old is a farm worker on a sheep, beef and cropping farm, having previously spent five years as a veterinarian.
The Regional Final was held on Saturday at Russell Park in Waipukurau.
Wallace says he was thankful to the convening committee for putting on the event.
“You put a really good day on, there was something for everyone out there,” he says.
He also thanked a number of people who helped him along the way.
“A special thanks to all the competitors, everyone was really good at something, I certainly wasn’t the best in the practical side there was some great fencing out there. And I’m appreciating the massive irony in winning this trophy with a gate when I couldn’t even get the gate on.”
Ahead of the grand final, Wallace says he will be focusing on improving his practical skills.
The contest is based on four pillars – agri-skills, agri-business, agri-sports and agri-knowledge.
The FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest Series is sponsored by FMG, Ravensdown, Worksafe, MPI, Environmental Protection Authority, Honda, STIHL, Massey University, Lincoln University, New Holland and PTS Logistics.
Now in its fourth year, the 2026 Fencing Industry Awards, formed part of the proceedings of the FCANZ Conference, held in Nelson during August.
DairyNZ deputy chair Cameron Henderson has been re-appointed unopposed for another term.
OPINION: The stats speak for themselves.
Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…