20 March 2002 First Young Farmer Contest Excellence Scholarship Winner Named

Eighteen-year-old Grant McNaughton of Kia Ora, west of Oamaru, is the first winner of the Wrightson AGMARDT Young Farmer Contest Scholarship for Excellence.

Announced at the first Regional Final of this year's contest, held in Methven (16 March), the win gives Grant the equivalent of full tuition fees for a degree at Lincoln University.

The scholarship is one of seven valued at the equivalent of full tuition fees for degree, diploma or postgraduate qualifications at Lincoln University, and they have been put up for winning among all entrants at the District Final level of this year's Young Farmer Contest.

"Providing an opportunity for District Final entrants to win a scholarship to Lincoln University is a way of providing a 'grass roots' chance for young rural New Zealanders to have a go at earning themselves an educational qualification for personal and career development through studying at the country's top agricultural teaching and research institution," says John Lay Director of Lincoln's Applied Management and Computing Division.

Grant, a past pupil of Waitaki Boys' High School and a member of the Five Forks (North Otago) Young Farmers' Club, will use the scholarship to cover the cost of a Bachelor of Commerce (Agricultural) degree which he has already started on this year at Lincoln University.

Grant plans to major in Farm Management and he says he was inspired to enter this year's Wrightson AGMARDT Young Farmer Contest after having helped the judge of a practical session of the contest when he was in his first year as a Young Farmers' Club member.

He says he enjoyed the experience and saw the challenge the competition offered.

From a farming family at Kia Ora, Grant thrives on the outdoors environment and gained high places in Agriculture right through school. In his junior years at Waitaki Boys' High he performed well in the Romney Junior Shepherd Competition and as a third former was placed 3rd in the local competition at the A & P Show, against competition from others aged up to 25 years.

He was a prefect at Waitaki Boys' High School and in his junior years played a lot of golf, winning the school's Golf Scholarship.

Six more Wrightson AGMARDT Young Farmer Contest Scholarships for Excellence will be announced as the contest's regional finals take place progressively at Alexandra, Greymouth, Waipukarau, Feilding, Te Puke and Helensville, through until 11 May.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.