Justin Ruygrok from the Franklin Young Farmer’s club is making his second appearance in the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final, one of seven finalists heading to Taranaki next week. He says he has been preparing while working to buy a farm.

“I’m looking at trying to buy the farm at the moment for next season, so hopefully I can put that across the line,” he says.

“I love what I do and don’t really have many plans on changing that anytime soon.”

The competition starts on Thursday, with the practical day on Friday, and the quiz on Saturday night. He will travel down on Wednesday with a support crew in tow.

“There’s a bit of cramming going on, trying to do a few last-minute things, but at the end of the day, it’s just farming really.

“You can only do so much.”

Ruygrok says he is steering his preparation away from his day-to-day work.

“I try not to do too much work around dairy, because that’s what I usually do day-to-day, so I’m just trying to focus on other things I wouldn’t usually encounter.”

He is applying his learnings from his experience making it to the same grand final last year.

“I’ll probably just try to stay calm through it, keep a clear mindset, and just really use my time well in certain areas.”

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