9th March 2026
David Reesby has pushed hard and secured his spot for Taranaki Manawatu at the Season 58 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final in New Plymouth.
Reesby, 25, was announced as the winner of the Taranaki FMG Young Farmer of the Year on Saturday evening, after spending the day competing in a series of challenges at Feilding High School.
This win qualifies him for his second Grand Final appearance, having previously competed in Season 54, where he finished seventh overall.
"I'm really excited to be heading back to the Grand Final ,” Reesby explains. “There's a lot of work to be done between now and then, and you’ve got to find the time to make it happen even with a full time job as well.
"I tried to have fun out there on Saturday, I had a bit of trouble with the bale on the Agri-sports but got it done in the end”
"It was good to be challenged, I didn’t really know what to expect when I got out there but I tried to make sure I had a good average across everything”.
After competing in Grand Final in 2022, and convening across his region, Reesby had a bit more experience under his belt and an understanding of how the Contest works.
"I’ve had a bit of a break between when I last competed but helping in the background across the last few years has definitely helped”
"Even in our day to day jobs, I tried to think of scenarios that could be applied in the competition, so when it was busy with work we were still doing prep”.
Participants entered one of three categories based on age, ranging from the AgriKidsNZ competition for primary school pupils, the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year for High School Students, and the tightly fought FMG Young Farmer of the Year category, where eight contestants battled it out for the top spot.
Reesby edged his way to victory by clocking up the most points on the day, defeating Central Taranaki Young Farmers member Ethan Muir. Josh Wilkinson from Fitzherbert Young Farmers claimed 3rd place.
With a number of individual challenges thrown their way, including a head-to-head, general knowledge ‘buzzer-style’ quiz and sponsor-led modules, contestants were tested on a broad range of practical skills, technical know-how, and their ability to cope under pressure.
With the Grand Final just a few months away, Reesby’s preparation is underway.
"I know I’ve got to start making the time for this now, so while work is busy it will just mean other things will take a bit of a back seat”
“I’ll be busy studying now till Grand Final and figuring out what I need to achieve in between now and then”
The AgriKidsNZ competition was another crowd-favourite. After a busy morning with over 90 primary school children being challenged to their industry know-how, Jaxon, Elise and Riley from Hunterville School emerged as the region’s victors.
Ben, Sam and Elsie-Rose from Waituna West School placed 2nd and Josh, Louis and Hunter from Halcombe School took out 3rd place and will be making their way to Grand Final
Meanwhile, in the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year competition, Kate Hopkins (Feilding Area High School and Tabitha Askin from Palmerston North Girls High School took out the title of Aorangi FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year, ahead of Logan Baker and Daniel Volkerling from Feilding Area High School.
Along with Reesby, the top AgriKidsNZ and FMG Junior teams will now represent the Taranaki Manawatu region in July’s Grand Final in New Plymouth.
The FMG Young Farmer of the Year is New Zealand’s most prestigious agricultural competition, celebrating the skill, knowledge and leadership of the next generation in our food and fibre sector.
Now in its 58th year, the competition continues to grow, with a prize pool exceeding $90,000 for the Grand Final winner, made possible by the generous support of its sponsor family: FMG, Ravensdown, Ministry for Primary Industries, Milwaukee, Honda, Lincoln University, ACC, PTS Logistics, New Holland and Bushbuck.
ENDS
For more information on the regional finals across Aotearoa, visit youngfarmers.co.nz/contest/regional-finals