North Island Farmer Wins Award

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32382, 22 August 1970, Page 14

North Island Farmer Wins Award

Twenty-nine-year-o 1 d Mr Allen R. Anderson, who farms in partnership with a friend in the Waitotara Valley, about 45 miles from Wanganui, won the second Skellerup Young Farmer of the Year contest which was decided in Christchurch last evening. Mr Anderson, with 142 points, was a clear-cut winner from 27-ye®r-old Mr I. L. Totty, <rf Springburn, MidCanterbury, by 15 points in the final of the contest in which the four competitors had to answer questions of a fanning character, make short speeches or comments, and present a 500-word paper. Mr Anderson’s prize, worth more than $4OOO, includes $5OO in cash, a return trip for two to Australia by Air New Zealand, five days accommodation for two in Sydney, and a new John Deere tractor. A married man with a 16-

month-old daughter, Mr Anderson farms a 1750 acres hill property carrying sheep and beef cattle. The three judges, acting independently, scored Mr Anderson particularly highly for his prepared paper, each giving him nine points out of a possible of 10. At this stage, out of a possible of 105 points, Mr Anderson had 81: Mr Totty 73; Mr D. A. Roberts, of Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, 67;

and Mr A. N. Wright, of Masterton, 64. The final part of the contest was recorded for broadcasting and included a short question and then a 90-second comment. In this section of the contest he also scored more points than his opponents and the final placings were: Anderson, 142 points, 1; Totty, 127, 2 ; Wright, 122, 3; and Roberts, 118, 4. The judges for the contest

were Dr I. D. Blair, reader in microbiology at Lincoln College; Mr J. J. Parsons, senior vice-president of Federated Farmers of New Zealand; and Mr P. G. Morrison, a former president of the Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs and a former Nuffield farming scholar. The four finalists in the Young Farmer of the Year contest From left are Messrs Totty, Roberts, Anderson, and Wright