Young Farmers are the future of New Zealand Agriculture, so each issue we shine a spotlight on a Young Farmers Club member. Today we talk to Balfour Young Farmer Anthony Tutty.

What is the name of your club, and how long have you been a member?

I’ve been with Balfour Young Farmers Club since January 2024

What has been the highlight for you of joining Young Farmers? What are the benefits and experiences that you feel have helped you most?

The highlights for me are meeting new people and getting involved with the community.

The benefits of young farmers are a good social club and gets me off farm to have a few drinks with the club and good mates.

How did you become involved in agriculture?

I have been in the agricultural industry all my life.

My parents, brother and sister are all farming from sheep, beef and dairy so it was natural to go into farming.

What is your job now? Tell us about your role, and what your journey has been like so far. If you are farming, please tell us about your farming operation?

I work on a mixed cropping with sheep and beef in Northern Southland we do about 330 hectares of cropping and have about 900 sheep and a handful of cattle.

The journey so far has been up and down like all farming jobs but I just get on and do the task at hand.

What do you think the future of farming will look like, and what would like to see happening in New Zealand agriculture going forward?

It's hard to say what farming will be like in five or ten year’s time, everything is changing so fast as time goes on.

But as Kiwis, we’ve always been great at adapting and tackling challenges head-on.

All I can say is, time will tell.

What are your future plans?

My plan is to stick with Young Farmers, but I’m also keen to head over to Australia for work and to see how they do farming over there.

After that, I’ll come back to the Balfour area and look for a job around here.

Who has been your biggest inspiration in agriculture, and why?

My inspiration for farming comes from my family and friends,  and Young Farmers as well who encourage me to keep pushing myself and always trying new things.

Farming is just the way of life for me.