The regional finals of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition resume this weekend with Lincoln graduate Kurt Armstrong among those battling it out for the Taranaki/Manawatu title at Hawera.
Both of the earlier finals have been won by Lincoln alumni, Mitchel Hoare and Lisa Kendall, and Kurt will be eager to secure his place with them in the Grand Final in July.
The stock manager has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree from Lincoln, and hopes one day to take over the family farm he works on near Fielding, as well as start his own stud.
Through his summer breaks at Lincoln he was shearing and working on farms across New Zealand, gaining practical experience, and his first job after graduation was on a 650-cow dairy farm, as well as doing his own cropping on a beef block near Woodville.
The 25-year-old is the Chair of Opiki Young Farmers, so will have plenty of support.
Lincoln University is firmly behind the competition as a collaborating partner of the event.
Our experts will be setting tasks and questions for all three sections of the contest: AgriKids, Junior Young Farmer and Young Farmer.
Lincoln student liaison staff will also be at each event to help facilitate the Agrikids section and give our future farmers a great experience. Our graduates also have a tradition of making the final with three in action last year, and they will undoubtedly again be well-represented.
As a land-based University we have a strong connection the values and skills the contest represent , right through from the youngsters who one day might grace our campus, to the Young Farmers clubs for students, to our alumni who use the knowledge they gained here to compete.
We’ll be following the action right through to July and the grand final, especially as part of it is taking place on campus at our B.linc workshop.
Good luck to all the competitors.
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