Young Farmer of the Year
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Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Another crack at title definitely on
Reporter Shawn McAvinue talks to 2025 Otago-Southland Young Farmer of the Year Cam Smith about his first time competing in the national final week in Invercargill earlier this month. Q. How did you go? I got fourth overall. I was in third but I dropped a place [in the final event] so I was a wee bit gutted to do that but to be fair, I'm pretty happy with fourth place overall and it gives me something to work on for next year, if I have another crack. Q. Do you think you'll have another crack? I think I'd be silly not to. It is a hard competition, even at a regional level in Otago-Southland, so there's no guarantee you're going to make it through to the grand final. I've got another couple of years anyway, so if I don't get through next year, then there's another year after that to have a go. Q. How old are you and what is the age limit for competitors? I'm 28 and it's 30, so another two years. Q. Do you think competing in a previous national final gives you an advantage? Yeah, 100%. Competing at the regional level, it's all experience but there's definitely a step up to the grand final level, so the guys who have been there before, they knew what to expect, and it's all about understanding the strategy of the competition and how to get points and I was probably a bit naive going into it about how much work was involved and the first and second placegetters had been there before, knew what needed to be done and how to juggle their time in the leadup to it. You've got a heap of projects two months leading into it, so there's a lot of work. Q. What would have you done differently in your build-up now you've got the hindsight? I'd try and get on to the projects quicker so I could spend a bit more time studying, rather than getting swamped by deadlines and projects and then trying to study at the same time. I'd spread it out a lot more. It's easy to say now, but at the time we had a newborn kid and we were doing as much as we could. Q. What were highlights of finals week? Our region took out two awards on the night and got $5000 for Ronald McDonald House, so that was cool and our fundraiser for a foodbank won overall. I took out the agri-skills award for having the highest overall score for that section. I was pretty happy to take that out. Q. What were your agri-skills tested on the practical day? Fencing, driving a digger, water troughs, plumbing in underground culvert pipes, riparian planting, swinging a gate, putting up fence rails, visual soil assessments, boning out half a side of lamb, taking velvet off deer, putting a baler on and off a tractor, shearing a sheep and there were seven half-an-hour modules during the day and they were quite full-on, including topics such as fishery regulation and winter grazing. Q. Do you know the winner, Waikato-Bay of Plenty sheep and beef farmer Hugh Jackson? We are bloody good friends. He was a member of Thornbury Young Farmers for a few years and was dairy farming down here, so Southland has adopted him — so it was a win for the region. Q. Southland is claiming the win? Yeah, we'll take the win. He was down here for long enough. Q. You and your wife Nicole Hanning-Smith were the winners of the 2024 Southland-Otago Dairy Industry Awards share farmer of the year category. What motivates you to enter competitions? Multiple reasons. We're both real driven to just push ourselves and learn and meet like-minded people. You end up with mates out of it, which is awesome, and your mates end up being the ones that push you in the industry — they're just awesome. The other reason is that we want to build a great reputation for ourselves. We're hoping next season to go 50:50 sharemilking down here so we are advertising ourselves as not only role models but hard-working, out-there people that want to push themselves and do well. It's all about trying to build a good rapport so you can get well-known in the industry and well-known in the region. That's what really pushes us to do it. Q. Are you still contract milking for Stephen and Tracy Henderson on their 215ha, 580-cow Awarua property? Yeah, this is our third season with Stephen and Tracy. We had an agreement that we'd do three seasons and then look at growing and carrying on, so that's the plan. Q. Would you look beyond Southland and Otago for the right opportunity? Nah, we love it down here. Q. What's the long-term dream? I'm going to win New Zealand Young Farmer of the Year over the next couple of years, and then one day be farm owners and be like Steve and Tracy, who've helped us out. We want to be the same and be able to lend a hand down the ladder. We're lucky to have a lot of good mentors. Q. What is an enduring memory of the grand finals? It is quite easy to look back at it and think about a question you got wrong and think 'I'm such an idiot' and you forget about all the good stuff, like the people that you met and the people that helped you study. It's quite easy to forget about all the good things when you're focusing on being hard on yourself. The coolest thing out of the whole competition itself was it being in your hometown and everyone was just so bloody proactive and working for you — it was really cool. Q. Was there a home-ground advantage? I'd just about call it a home-ground disadvantage. Q. Why's that? You put a bit of extra pressure on yourself. You've got all your mates there cheering you on, which is cool, but you don't want to look like a dick in front of them. That was probably the scariest thing, going in front of the crowd of 800 and not wanting to look like a bloody idiot if I get something wrong. But in terms of support, it was awesome.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Interesting newcomers in stable squad
A Fijian, an English Stag, a Magpie, a Dragon, an Eel and a Shark walk into a changing room. That is not some sort of obscure joke, but it is the start of a discussion about the most interesting points in the Otago squad named for the NPC campaign. New coach Mark Brown has named six potential debutants in a 32-strong squad. Having 26 players — with a combined 636 caps — return from last season is a fair display of stability, and there should be plenty of motivation in the squad to improve on a ninth placing. Southern loose forward Konrad Toleafoa, Zingari-Richmond hooker A-One Lolofie, Taieri halfback Bob Martin and Dunedin flanker Max Ratcliffe are the newcomers out of club rugby. Otago have also signed Fijian Drua lock Joseva Tamani and English utility back Charlie Powell, who played for Southland last season, to fill holes they believe cannot yet be covered from local stocks. Not everybody is on board with recruiting international players for the NPC — indeed, it rather flies in the face of the mission of the competition — but Brown said they would add to the squad and give Otago time to get more locals in key positions up to speed. "There are some really promising young fellows there, and they feature in our sort of wider group," Brown said. "But we want to set them up to succeed, get them in our environment and just take some time with them. And then when we need to call on them through the year, they're sort of ready, rather than thrusting them in straight away." Lock was always going to be a position of concern now Fabian Holland is virtually certain to be a regular in the All Blacks and New Zealand under-20 giant Josh Tengblad is being developed carefully. Tamani, 28, who made his test debut in 2023, has played 31 Super Rugby games for the Drua, scoring six tries, and can play lock or blindside. "We aimed high to see if we could find someone of a suitable level of experience," Brown said. "There weren't too many around, but once Josefa didn't make the Flying Fijians, he became available, and we were obviously really interested with what he could provide to the squad. "In terms of experience and being able to cope at this level, he was a nice fit for us." Bristol-born Powell, 25, played eight games for Southland last year at centre or wing. The Englishman has since been playing in the Shute Shield competition in Sydney. "He's got some good ability to cover midfield as well as outside back, and that was sort of quite important to us," Brown said. "We're hedging our bets with Charlie. He can cover both for us as we work through some injuries." Indeed, Otago look a little lean with the season just around the corner. Holland, Christian Lio-Willie and George Bower are with the All Blacks, and Finn Hurley (quad, 10-12 weeks), Oliver Haig (ankle, 4-6 weeks), Jona Nareki (knee, 4-6 weeks), Josh Whaanga (knee, 6-8 weeks) and Jake Te Hiwi (groin, 4-6 weeks) are sidelined. "We will have to sort of grin and bear it and just work within our means for the first couple of weeks. "But then hopefully we start getting some of those boys drip-fed back." Brown said Toleafoa and Ratcliffe had been consistent performers in club rugby and it was time to see how they fared at the next level. Martin, who came back from Brisbane and briefly made his Eels comeback before getting injured, will have to compete with classy Highlanders halfback Nathan Hastie and New Zealand under-20 sensation Dylan Pledger, while Lolofie will challenge Highlanders hooker Henry Bell and veteran Liam Coltman. Cameron Millar is the only specialist first five in the squad but rising Harbour playmaker Rique Miln is among a bunch of players in a wider group ready for action when needed. Sam Gilbert, in his last season with Otago before heading to Ireland, is otherwise the only cover at No10. Gilbert and Lio-Willie were co-captains last season but Brown has not yet revealed his leadership structure. First five Ajay Faleafaga has been injured and is understood to be heading to Japan, experienced halfback James Arscott has switched to Auckland, Sam Fischli has signed for the Stags, and centre Hudson Creighton has returned to Australia. Otago play Southland in a preseason game at the University Oval on Friday afternoon, and the rivals clash on Stag Day in Invercargill in the opening round of the NPC on August 2. Otago NPC squad Hookers: Liam Coltman (Utah Warriors), Henry Bell (Kaikorai), A-One Lolofie (Zingari-Richmond). Props: George Bower (Harbour), Benjamin Lopas (Green Island), Saula Ma'u (Harbour), Abraham Pole (Harbour), Moana Takataka (Kaikorai), Rohan Wingham (Dunedin). Locks: Fabian Holland (Dunedin), Joseva Tamani (Fijian Drua), Will Tucker (Kaikorai). Loose forwards: Lucas Casey (Kaikorai), Max Ratcliffe (Dunedin), Will Stodart (University), Harry Taylor (Southern), Konrad Toleafoa (Southern), Christian Lio-Willie (Kaikorai), Oliver Haig (Green Island). Halfbacks: Nathan Hastie (Harbour), Dylan Pledger (Kaikorai), Bob Martin (Taieri). First five: Cameron Millar (Taieri). Midfield backs: Sam Gilbert (Green Island), Jake Te Hiwi (Green Island), Josh Timu (Southern), Thomas Umaga-Jensen (University), Josh Whaanga (Taieri). Outside backs: Jeremiah Asi (University), Finn Hurley (Green Island), Jona Nareki (Alhambra-Union), Charlie Powell (Manly Marlins).
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Black Sox edged in World Cup final
The Black Sox have regained respect but have missed out on returning to the top of the world. They have been beaten 3-0 by Venezuela in the final of the Softball World Cup in Canada this morning. New Zealand managed just one hit off ace Venezuelan pitcher Maiker Pimentel Sivira through the first five innings, and trailed 1-0 with two innings to play. They had a big opportunity with runners on second and third at the top of the sixth, but could not make it count, and Venezuela added two insurance runs at the bottom of the inning. While the Black Sox - including Otago brothers Cam and Ben Watts - will be disappointed, they can also reflect on an excellent campaign that restored their status as heavyweights of the sport. They missed the top six at the last World Cup and had slumped to a ranking of eighth in the world. After playing some excellent softball in the early rounds in Prince Albert, they delivered a clutch 8-3 win over Japan to reach the final on a tiebreak. It was a first world title for Venezuela, who were beaten by the Black Sox in the 2013 final and won bronze two years later.
