Tuesday, 10 February 2015 14:03

Otago Southland Young Farmer grand finalist named

Written by Rural News Group

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Steve Henderson in the Horticulture module.

Steve Henderson is the first Grand Finalist to be named in the 2015 ANZ Young Farmer Contest.

The 29-year-old sharemilker took first place at the Otago/Southland Regional Final in Queenstown on Saturday, February 7.

Henderson went home with a prize pack worth over $10,000 including cash, scholarships and products and services. He also won the Lincoln University Agri-Growth and Ravensdown Agri-Skills challenges.

This was Henderson’s third attempt at regional final level of the ANZ Young Farmer Contest. He is a very active member of the Waitane Young Farmers Club as well as the Winton Fire Brigade. He sharemilks 320 cows on a 112ha property alongside his wife Tracy near Winton.

Henderson is off to the Grand Final in Taupo, July 2-4 where he will battle it out for the Champion’s title and more than $270,000 in prizes.

The Otago/Southland Regional Final featured a strong group of contestants with plenty of knowledge and talent on display. The eight contestants were required to complete a variety of challenges that all touched on all aspects of farming from practical hands-on tasks to theory and business components.

Second place went to 25-year-old Waipahi sheep farmer, Logan Wallace, of the South Otago Young Farmers Club. He took home $2,900 worth of prizes.

Third place went to Riverton dairy farmer John White (30) and fourth place went to Justin Davie (26), of the Thornbury Young Farmers Club.

The AGMARDT Agri-Business Challenge winner was John White and Justin Davie won the Silver Fern Farms Agri-Sports Challenge.

The 2015 ANZ Young Farmer Contest features seven regional finals culminating in the Grand Final.

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