Dwayne Cowin, of the Reporoa Young Farmers Club is in training for the 2014 ANZ Young Farmer Contest Grand Final when he will represent the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region.

Dwayne Cowin, of the Reporoa Young Farmers Club taking part in one of the events in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty regional finals of the 2014 ANZ Young Farmer Contest, which he won.

Dwayne will be competing against six other young farmers from throughout the country in Christchurch from July 3 to 5.

Progressing through to the grand final is more of a relief for the 28 year old who has been runner-up for the past three regional finals.

'It's pretty good to get rid of that bridesmaid tag, but, it's going to be a big step up at grand final,” he says. Last year's champion, Tim van de Molen also hails from Waikato/Bay of Plenty.

Currently working as a stock manager at Lochinver Station, Dwayne says he is progressing towards his ultimate goal of share-farming or leasing a sheep and beef farm within the next 10 years.

He is passionate about agriculture and contends, like many, that the primary industry is the backbone of New Zealand. He also enjoys the variety of work and the challenges it presents, 'no two seasons are the same,” he says.

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional final won by Dwayne features on TVNZ Heartland's ‘The Road To The Young Farmer Final', on Sunday June 15, 9.30pm.

Contest Chairman Kyle Goodwin says the event is certainly shaping up to be a very strong contest.

'There is an interesting mix of competition and industry experience with this group,” he says.

The seven Grand Finalists were determined after rigorous competition at the regional level, where 56 competitors across New Zealand battled it out to represent their regions.

There is more than $300,000 in the total prize pool for the grand final and the champion will go home with the top prize pack worth nearly $70,000 including cash, scholarships and products and services from ANZ, Lincoln University, Ravensdown, AGMARDT, Silver Fern Farms, Honda, Husqvarna and Vodafone.

The Grand Final events begin Thursday July 3, 4.30pm with the official opening at Lincoln University Library (free for spectators).

Friday July 4 is the Practical Day, held at Lincoln University (gold coin donation entry). Friday evening sees the ANZ Sponsors and Speeches Dinner, held at the Wigram Airforce Musuem.

The competition continues Saturday July 5 with the live televised evening show at CBS Arena followed by the celebratory ball at Addington Raceway.

Tickets for all these events are available at www.youngfarmers.co.nz