Tim Dangen says that winning the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final had many unexpected benefits.
That included becoming a food and fibre sector ambassador for the Ministry for Primary Industries.
“It has opened a lot of doors and created opportunities and connections I never thought I would have access to,” says Tim, who was the 2022 winner, with the final held in Whangarei.
“I think there is a lot of ‘imposter syndrome’ among farmers but it has propelled my career exponentially and given me the confidence to test my boundaries and go after opportunities.”
Tim has been farming at his family beef farm at Muriwai in West Auckland but is about to move into a sharemilking partnership in Riverton.
He’ll be joining Simon Hopcroft and Janine Hopcroft, who first employed him on their Southland farm as a new graduate. As the 2004 Grand Final winner himself, it was Simon who encouraged Tim to join NZ Young Farmers and enter the contest.
“It was an awesome experience and, after two years of reflecting on winning, I think the biggest takeaway for me was how great our rural community is and the gratitude about the amount of time and effort the sponsors, organisers and volunteers put in,” says Tim.
“There were also so many people who encouraged me and helped me to train. Along the way, you meet so many great people.”
Tim made the final at his fourth attempt in the regional contests. The biggest challenge in the Grand Final was competing against his brother-in-law Chris Poole, who he narrowly defeated to win.
“That did create a moral conflict because we were championing each other to win as well and I know what a good farmer he is.”
Continuing the family connection, Tim’s sister Emma Poole also won the Grand Final the following year.
“I am a competitive person so I loved the contesting side of it, challenging myself and pushing myself out of my comfort zone,” he says.
“The competition changed my mentality on life in a lot of ways. It was great to win but the real value came from the training process and learning new skills and bettering myself in areas I might have otherwise shied away from – and the relationships I made.”
Tim is still in regular contact with his fellow finalists.
“Every one of the finalists in our year was a full time farmer and we are all passionate about farming.
“I really enjoyed getting to know the others. We all wanted to win but you know you are really there to compete against yourself and put in your best performance. There is no animosity.
”We became really close throughout the process and we keep in touch.
“It’s great having that network of people across the country to get updates from the different regions and hear about how their seasons are going. It is a really neat group in which we can be really open and honest about our challenges, ideas or decisions.”
