Media Release
5 July 2017
Lincoln University Graduate - One of only our women to ever make it to Young Farmer final
A Lincoln University graduate is one of only four women to ever compete in a Grand Final of the Young Farmer of the
Year, starting this Thursday in the Manawatu.
First time competitor, 25-year-old Lisa Kendall, representing the Northern region, will be joined by fellow Lincoln
University alumni, Andrew Wiffen from Tasman, and Nigel Woodhead from Otago/Southland along with four other finalists,
as they battle for the national title.
Lisa owns and operates Nurture Farming Ltd – an ag support service company. She is driven and highly talented, and took
the Northern regional final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year by storm. Strong, determined and intelligent, Lisa
demolished the competition and for those who know her, it has come as no surprise.
Raised on a lifestyle block, Lisa grew up in South Auckland with her lawyer mum and her father who was an electrical
engineer but the city wasn’t for her as she set about becoming a farmer.
Following a Diploma in Agriculture and Farm Management at Lincoln University, Lisa worked on dairy and sheep farms and
went to Thailand to volunteer in an orphanage.
A long way from being a top farmer, her parents thought she’d become a professional ballet dancer. Lisa was a very
talented ballet dancer but eventually left the lure of the bright lights for the lure of the land. The change in
direction wasn’t entirely unexpected as Lisa always watched Young Farmer as a child and made it quite clear that one day
she would win it.
Beginning on Thursday, together with the other six grand finalists, Lisa will begin an arduous three days of fierce
battles in order to be named New Zealand’s top Young Farmer.
ENDS