6 | nzdairy Previous experience Richard Loader “It was a bit if a relief to have nally got the job done. As Ed Hilary says, it was good to have nally knocked the bastard off. I think to enter this kind of competition you have to have some re in your belly and if you make it near the top you get well rewarded for your efforts. When Canterbury dairy farmer Jonny Brown entered this year’s Tasman FMG Young Farmer of the Year, he had un nished business to address. On two previous occasions Jonny had been pipped at the post, coming second – this year he took the award home. The challenging Young Farmer of the Year competition is open to everyone aged between 16 and 31, and at 31 years the 2022 competition was also Jonny’s last opportunity. “It was a bit if a relief to have nally got the job done,” says Jonny. “As Ed Hilary says, it was good to have nally knocked the bastard off. I think to enter this kind of competition you have to have some re in your belly and if you make it near the top you get well rewarded for your efforts. “I think my success this year was my experience, the runs that I had on the board and some luck on the day as to what is thrown at you. This is the rst year in a while where the regional winners are all ground-based farmers.” Jonny says one of the events required draughting jersey bulls and he was able to select bulls that weighed bang in the middle region of what was speci ed – that, he says, just comes down to experience. Before the competition, Jonny was given valuable advice about always producing something to judge for each event and that was the mantra he ran with throughout all the events in the competition. “You get given all these challenges and actually producing something to judge is key – it can be completely useless but at least you have something to show the judges. “I really struggle in the design side of things and in the last head-to-head at nals we had to design and build a chair. I looked around and there were some decent chairs being constructed. I built something that was ‘very agricultural’ and not very comfortable but it was a chair. Mine was probably the worst looking chair of the lot but I got points for nishing rst, while the others were on their Winners are grinners. Canterbury dairy farmer Jonny Brown at the Young Farmer of the Year awards with placegetters Archie Woodhouse, (left, third) and runner up Andrew Allan (right). DAIRY PEOPLE » One Arrow farm: Jonny Brown way to building a better chair but had a whole lot of pressure.” Having successfully completed the Regionals Jonny says there is a huge amount of work ahead preparing for the Nationals and to add to that he and his partner Shae have accepted a contract milker’s role on Dairy Holdings’ One Arrow Farm that they have been managing for the last two years. “Taking over as contract milkers will become a real team effort and Shae and I are really excited about the step. There will be a few challenges ahead but we will also have a bit more control over how the farm operates.” Located in Bankside, between Rakaia and Dunsandel, Arrow One is a 341-hectare effective farm that winters 1330 cows. The farm has been run with a team of four permanent staff, along with calf rearers, but when Jonny commences his new role the plan is to increase the labour units to ve and he is in the nal stages of trying to secure that. “It’s a tight labour market. We’re in a good location and it’s a well set up farm but the fact of the matter is we’re still milking a lot of cows and that can turn some people off. I’m passionate about the industry but I do have views that can be controversial at times. For example, I do my very best to take annual leave, whereas a lot of people in my position are happy to work every day from the rst calf dropping to the end of mating. I don’t a hire top quality assistant manager to not get out of the way and give that person the opportunities to shine.” Jonny feels there are areas where the dairy industry could improve, particularly around the pastoral care of young people entering the industry, along with leadership skills. “For a lot of young farmers progressing through their careers it’s about nding the right opportunity. The industry has lots of opportunities but they may not always be the right opportunities for young people - no matter how much energy and enthusiasm they might have. The industry has a long list of young burned out people who are no longer in the industry.” • Concrete • Fertiliser Spreading - Farm Mapping - GPS Tracking - Variable Rate Spreading • Livestock Cartage • Grain Cartage • Shingle Supplies • Daily Freight Leeston: 03 3248 070 Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz Proudly supporting One Arrow Ltd Phone 308 5903 weekdays l Email: agserve@xtra.co.nz on call 7 days: Doug: 027 282 2245, Matt (Tomo): 021 518 538 • Full time workshop attendance for emergancy repairs • PK trailer repairs and maintenance • Wire rope supply and splicing • Pivot mechanical maintenance, gear boxes and fence walkers • Rotary boom irrigators service and repairs • Trailer manufacturing and repairs • Dairy shed yard work - gates, rails etc. • Over counter sales and courier deliveries • Mainline repair • Chains, bearings • Alloy and stainless welding •General engineering Now at 15 MalcolmMcDowell Drive E: john@ruralcoach.co.nz | sarah@ruralcoach.co.nz | www.ruralcoach.co.nz • Business Planning • Farm Team culture and development • Leadership Development. 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