Young farmer clipped at finish line

Kaiwaka beef farmer Marty Roest, 30, was runner-up to Whangarei’s James Donaldson in the Northern Regional final of the National Bank Young Farmer contest held at Dargaville last month.

It was Marty’s last chance at making the grand final of the competition as next year he’ll be 31 and too old to be a member of Young Farmers. Some consolation came though as he took out the Hyundai Agri-sports challenge. Last year he finished third in the regional final, at Wellsford.

James won the contest with a comfortable 30 point margin. He and wife Katie lease 300ha at Titoki carrying 650 R1 bulls and 50 South Devon stud cows. The 29-year-old made his first grand final in 2008.

Wellsford dairy farmer Matt Smith, 29, finished fourth with 168 points. He also won the Lincoln University Agri-growth Challenge and AGMARDT Agri-business Challenge. This year’s grand final will be held in Gore on July 10.