Athol New’s abiding memory of winning the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final in 2016 is how cold it was in Timaru.
“It all passed in a bit of whirlwind,” says Athol, who is now an equity partner in and chief executive of Canterbury-based Tullba, an integrated dairy and beef business.
“Memories that stand out include milking a cow in the back of a truck and the camaraderie with the other contestants. The event was so full on but then once it was over, there was a chance to get to know one another better.”
Unlike many Young Farmer contestants, Athol doesn’t come from a farming background. He got interested in agriculture at Kamo High School and his teacher encouraged him to head to Lincoln University where he gained a degree in agricultural commerce.
At the time of his win, he was operations manager for a Purata dairy business overseeing 4,000 cows.
Accepting the award, he credited his wife Jane as ‘key to my win’ for her support as he undertook intense preparation for the Grand Final
That included calling up previous winners for their advice.
“Not one of them said no,” he says. “I thought that was pretty amazing and it says a lot about the agriculture sector. They were all happy for me to visit, helped me with my training and with my awareness of the pressure I would be under on the day.”
Apart from the cold, he says the biggest challenge was being able to manage the intense and sustained pace of the final.
“It’s like doing several days’ worth of farm work in four hours but it shows how much you can achieve if you really put your mind to it.
“Probably the biggest learning for me was that if you can control your emotional and mental state, you can do well at everything you put your mind to. That, and learning to move forward when you have made a mistake.”
Athol says achieving success in the competition has ongoing benefits.
“It’s very handy to have on your CV and even in things like talking to the bank. You get noticed faster and you probably have to do less to demonstrate how good you are.
“To others thinking of entering, I’d say it is a really good event to increase your skills and learn new ones.
“You have nothing to lose. At every stage of the competition, it is up to you how hard and fast you want to push yourself. That will determine how far you want to go. And sometimes it helps to have others give you a wee push too.”
