Alumnus Ben Galloway and current Lincoln student Henry Smith will be squaring off in the East Coast Regional Final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest at Waipukurau.
Ben gained a cadetship through Smedley Station before heading to Lincoln University to study a Diploma in Agriculture. The 24-year-old now works on his sixth generation family farm in Woodville, after spending two seasons travelling around the United Kingdom and Europe, and three seasons working in Hawke’s Bay.
He also spent 18 months shepherding in Pongoroa before heading back to the family farm, with hopes of taking over the business, running 4000 Romney ewes plus Friesian bulls.
Henry is a block manager on Palliser Ridge Station near Pirinoa. The 24-year-old, crowned Wairarapa Shepherd of the Year for 2019, is in charge of 5000 breeding ewes and 1100 steers over 1050ha and also has experience as a shepherd across big country stations.
Henry completed a cadetship at Smedley Station and is working towards a Lincoln University Diploma in Agriculture through correspondence.
This will be the Ngāti Raukawa descendant’s second regional final. He’s also aiming to qualify for the New Zealand Sheep Dog Championships this year.
The pair will be battling it out to enter the Grand Final.
Lincoln staff attend each regional final to help facilitate the Agrikids, Junior and Senior sections. As a land-based university, Lincoln has a strong connection with the values and skills the contest represents, having played an important role in the agricultural sector since 18