Not just luck in Palmerston North

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04/03/2013

Not just luck in Palmerston North

Cam Brown is the fourth Grand Finalist to be named for the 2013 ANZ Young Farmer Contest. He earned his win over the weekend, Friday 1st March, at the Taranaki/Manawatu Regional Final in Palmerston North held at the Railway Land and Awapuni Racecourse.

It wasn’t all luck for the 30 year old Eketahuna dairy farmer.

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”, Cam said. Having a solid support team was essential for his success. “I had a wide range of people behind me to offer their expertise and help me up skill”, he said.

Cam, Chairman of the Fitzherbert Young Farmers Club, narrowly took the win by three points followed by Nigel Will of the Marton Young Farmers Club in second, Karl Dean of the Central Taranaki Young Farmers Club was a close third, and Calvin Ball of the Massey University Young Farmers Club placed fourth.

In addition to securing his place at the Grand Final, Auckland 16-18 May, Cam received his share of the prize pack valued at $9000. The prizes included cash from ANZ and AGMARDT, a Lincoln University Scholarship, and products from Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms, Honda, and Husqvarna.

Cam also took the AGMARDT Agri-business and Ravensdown Agri-skills Challenges. Calvin Ball won the Lincoln University Agri-growth Challenge and Pete Fitz-Herbert was successful in the Silver Fern Farms Agri-sport Challenge.

Cam is driven to win by the prestige of the Contest and looks to previous Contest Champions for inspiration. “Winners are held in high regard and looked at as leaders in the industry. There is a reputation to live up to”.

Cam has a few career goals in mind and is looking to take the next step towards a 50/50 sharemilking operation.

He is also hopeful for the future of the agriculture industry. “There is exciting potential for change in the industry and the red meat sector, particularly with issues like procurement”, he said.

Cam holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Agri-business and is married to Anna with two children Charlie, 2, and Oliver, 3 months.

The Taranaki/Manawatu AgriKidsNZ and TeenAg Regional Finals were also held over the weekend.

“There were some very eager and keen competitors; it was great to see the first all-girls teams make it into the top three for both the AgriKidsNZ and TeenAg Competitions”, commented AgriKidsNZ and TeenAg Project Leader, Josie Hampton.

In first place for AgriKidsNZ was Milky Bar Kids, Caleb Dymond, Rickey Howells and Cameron Hasler from Ngaere School. In second, The Moo Maas, Rebecca Brown, Ethan Martin and Jackson Taylor also from Ngaere School followed by The Harvesters, Georgia Green, Maddy Cheer and Andrea Black of South Makirikiri School in third.

TeenAg saw the Mighty Angus in first place, Ben Werthmuller and Adam Howarth of Palmerston North Boys High School. Bren & Sezz placed second with Brenna Coleman and Sarah Greenwood from Fielding High School followed by Pine Tree 101, Ben Simpson and Harry Gibbs from Palmerston North Boys High School.

The top three teams from each competition are invited to the Grand Final in Auckland 17th May.

Watch the action on ‘Road To The Young Farmer Final’. Exclusive to TVNZ Heartland, the series covers each of the seven Regional Finals and follows the seven top achievers who make it through to the Grand Final. Catch the premier Sunday 31 March 2013 8.30pm.

For more information head to www.youngfarmercontest.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media