46 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Skibbereen Farm - Cloud8 Dairy Laser focus for Aorangi’s top young farmer His new role is only for two years as a family member is expected back on the farm so he will be actively looking for a 50/50 sharemilking role. Karen Phelps Passionate Coldstream dairy farmer Jack Taggart is off to compete in the grand final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year in New Plymouth in July, after being crowned Aorangi’s top young farmer. The Aorangi region competition was held at the Woodbury domain on Saturday January 31. It featured five gruelling challenges, including an intense ‘buzzer-style’ quiz that rewarded quick thinking. Each task was crafted by NZ Young Farmers to expose how well contestants could apply their practical skills and technical knowledge while working against the clock. Winning was a great moment for Jack with his family and friends there to cheer him on in Woodbury, near Geraldine. “It was kind of surreal, I was thrilled but also a bit of oh I’ve got to do this now.” There was 12 points between him and the second place getter and friend George Letham, often it can be just a point between places. Both Jack and George hail from Hinds Young Farmers. NZ Young Farmers said the head-to-head and the Agri-sports was where Jack really shone, taking out these challenges with comfort and a lot of speed. The head-to-head featured the contestants making a birdhouse out of pallets, which Jack breezed through with time to spare. He will be prepping for the grand final alongside starting a new role as a contract milker on a 1000 cow dairy farm, Bentower Dairies at Valetta, near Mayfield. Jack, 26, grew up around dairy farming. “My family has been involved since I was eightyears-old. I would jump straight off the school bus and go and help out on the farm, I just loved it.” He left school at the start of year 13 to get practical work experience before heading to Lincoln University. “You have to have 42 weeks of practical working experience so I wanted to get ahead on that.” He graduated in 2022 with a Diploma in Agriculture, a Diploma in Farm Management and a Bachelor of Commerce in Agriculture. While at University he also did agriculture contracting. Francis Creed | 350 cows on 6 VMS™ V300 Let’s discover your way. To find out more about how VMS™ can work your way, call your local DeLaval representative on 03 308 8226. Individual results may differ; information does not constitute warranty/guarantee of service or performance. YOUR VMS™ YOUR WAY “ We struggled to recruit, so something had to change. If we didn’t have the robots now, we would not be milking cows. ” Proud to support Skibbereen Farm - Cloud8 Dairy Ltd Keeping you growing since 1989
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