July 5, 2026 • 6 mins
Richard Slee looks back at a memorable weekend with his son Tom winning the FMG Young Farmer of the Year title.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is the muster on Hakanui.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Richard Slee, his son Tom Slee, was crowned FMG Young
Farmer of the Year on Saturday evening. And this is
a hell of a family connection. Richard actually won the
title back in nineteen ninety nine. And if you'd like
to take it a step further, Simon Hotcroft who had
on the program last week as Tom's uncle, so and
(00:31):
he won in two thousand and four, so the connection
just gets stronger. Richard, good afternoon. And firstly, congratulations, you
guys must be chuff to hell.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thanks Andy, We're shut. Chuff to her is exactly that word. Yeah,
proud parents, but we've got some pretty proud, pretty proud
family members and some pretty proud grandparents.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Want to think of it, well absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I mean unprecedented as a word that can be overhyped,
but to this occasion, I think it describes it pretty well.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yeah, it's good. I mean, they love an angle, don't they,
whether it's a brother, sister or an uncle or and
so the old father's son. One had to hurt one
day and it happened to us, So it's pretty cool.
So we'll put that one on the mantelpiece.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Did you have a name clean? Did?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
He was in with a shot on Saturday? Light strategy wise,
what were you thinking?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, there was a good on the way up treating
himself spoken. We said, we're just not sure where Tom's
going to land, and he'd be in the top seven,
we thought, but he's a bit of a joke. But
now just watching him during the day, he was pretty
He kept his call pretty good, which is hard to do,
and we thought if he gets the middle of the road,
that'd be awesome. And then when the points went up
(01:46):
on the well, so it wasn't the points on the night,
it was they put the seven names up and what
place you are placed at? And he was placed after
more or less ninety percent of the points or the
competition things like the speech, et cetera. He was placed third,
and then you just had the quiz after that. So
we thought, well, Ginger is he's going to have to
(02:07):
he always got to do. Now I was try and
go for it at that position.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Was that the tactic again this year?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Up there richer just to get there and just take
the bull by the horns and the quiz.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
It was a little bit of name We just did
talk before that afternoon with dougle Simon and where we
we strategy meeting, and we said, you know, if he's
sitting apeed on where he lands and when we landed third,
well and you don't know the points he just really
had to probably We just said you're gonna have to
put the hammer down no matter what. And the only
(02:37):
other thing would be is the other competitive. So if
there were fifth, six or seventh, it just if they
were going for it, well that's probably to his advantage.
But so he had a slight strategy there.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yeah, and it paid off, I mean, earning big numbers
in that quiz round to take him up to where
he did. So everything just aligned.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Did he burst into a couple of there, you've got
a couple wrong in a row, and that's what sort
of and then he backed off as you do because
she's when the press is are on the simple things
get hard. And then he come back at it, which
was good. So we know we're pretty pretty pleased from
doing that.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Richard, the comparison to when you won back in nineteen
ninety nine to the present twenty seven years later, what
were the biggest differences that you could see?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I think the biggest difference would be probably more community.
They have quite a big emphasis on your community footprint
and so you've got to be involved, and you know,
you can't just come and cold turkey off the street
and jump in this competition, and they want to see
that you're actually putting a bit back into your community
(03:43):
and young farmers. So that's quite a big watch. Is great, really,
I think that's that's a real strong point and probably
a little bit harder on the they've got these farm
modules amongst these sort of practical so we really didn't
have that either, but we've probably had sixty to seventy percent.
What's there now? Some of the same old questions come up,
(04:05):
but it's definitely probably got a little bit more technical
and a little bit I don't know if I'd like
to be having a crack at it now anyway.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Well, likes of the red flags, Was it the same
back when you were participating?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
There was no red flags back then. They just give
you a bit of a nudge.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
I wondered that.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Probably a good thing. But those red flags really really
throw you around. So I think when they get one,
I think they've got to delay for thirty seconds. So
they've just got to take a breather and look around
them and probably make use of that thirty seconds. So
that's not all bad.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And it just brings into a wider context young farmers.
I suppose Richard, you talk before about not being Joe
Bloggs walking off the street and entering the competition. You've
got to have a bit of a community focus about you.
I think it just reflects the young farmers in the
south to a tea, especially with the awards they picked
up on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Correct, Yeah, I targer yourself and has been a very
strong province over over the history. So and there's a
lot of clubs so they do do generally genders tend
to shine up. But there's certainly a few other clubs
around the country that took away some prizes too, which
was great to see.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
So how long do you give them in the media
rounds before you start cracking the whip and getting him
back on the case of the handley, getting him back
into the shed or whatever, get the back.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Of a shed. Yeah, they'll be interested to see one't
this week will be pretty intense and I think it's
like most farmers, they're pretty keen to put their gun
brits on and roll their sleeves up and just get
back out with their animals. And you calm down, Hey.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Get on, you're Richard.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Thanks for your time this afternoon, yourself, Trude and everybody
be rightly proud of what time's achieved.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Unprecedented.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I'll say it once more, because you won back in
nineteen ninety nine. Your son's followed in twenty twenty six,
So two chapters of the.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Family doing really well.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Thanks for your time this afternoon, and yeah, enjoy the
golden bars because it's well deserved. Thanks Andy, Richard Slee,
father of Tom Slee. I FMG Young Farmer of the
Year twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
How good does that sound? Ben Dooley's up next. This
is the Muster
This is the muster on Hakanui.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Richard Slee, his son Tom Slee, was crowned FMG Young
Farmer of the Year on Saturday evening. And this is
a hell of a family connection. Richard actually won the
title back in nineteen ninety nine. And if you'd like
to take it a step further, Simon Hotcroft who had
on the program last week as Tom's uncle, so and
(00:31):
he won in two thousand and four, so the connection
just gets stronger. Richard, good afternoon. And firstly, congratulations, you
guys must be chuff to hell.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thanks Andy, We're shut. Chuff to her is exactly that word. Yeah,
proud parents, but we've got some pretty proud, pretty proud
family members and some pretty proud grandparents.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Want to think of it, well absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I mean unprecedented as a word that can be overhyped,
but to this occasion, I think it describes it pretty well.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yeah, it's good. I mean, they love an angle, don't they,
whether it's a brother, sister or an uncle or and
so the old father's son. One had to hurt one
day and it happened to us, So it's pretty cool.
So we'll put that one on the mantelpiece.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Did you have a name clean? Did?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
He was in with a shot on Saturday? Light strategy wise,
what were you thinking?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, there was a good on the way up treating
himself spoken. We said, we're just not sure where Tom's
going to land, and he'd be in the top seven,
we thought, but he's a bit of a joke. But
now just watching him during the day, he was pretty
He kept his call pretty good, which is hard to do,
and we thought if he gets the middle of the road,
that'd be awesome. And then when the points went up
(01:46):
on the well, so it wasn't the points on the night,
it was they put the seven names up and what
place you are placed at? And he was placed after
more or less ninety percent of the points or the
competition things like the speech, et cetera. He was placed third,
and then you just had the quiz after that. So
we thought, well, Ginger is he's going to have to
(02:07):
he always got to do. Now I was try and
go for it at that position.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Was that the tactic again this year?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Up there richer just to get there and just take
the bull by the horns and the quiz.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
It was a little bit of name We just did
talk before that afternoon with dougle Simon and where we
we strategy meeting, and we said, you know, if he's
sitting apeed on where he lands and when we landed third,
well and you don't know the points he just really
had to probably We just said you're gonna have to
put the hammer down no matter what. And the only
(02:37):
other thing would be is the other competitive. So if
there were fifth, six or seventh, it just if they
were going for it, well that's probably to his advantage.
But so he had a slight strategy there.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yeah, and it paid off, I mean, earning big numbers
in that quiz round to take him up to where
he did. So everything just aligned.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Did he burst into a couple of there, you've got
a couple wrong in a row, and that's what sort
of and then he backed off as you do because
she's when the press is are on the simple things
get hard. And then he come back at it, which
was good. So we know we're pretty pretty pleased from
doing that.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Richard, the comparison to when you won back in nineteen
ninety nine to the present twenty seven years later, what
were the biggest differences that you could see?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I think the biggest difference would be probably more community.
They have quite a big emphasis on your community footprint
and so you've got to be involved, and you know,
you can't just come and cold turkey off the street
and jump in this competition, and they want to see
that you're actually putting a bit back into your community
(03:43):
and young farmers. So that's quite a big watch. Is great, really,
I think that's that's a real strong point and probably
a little bit harder on the they've got these farm
modules amongst these sort of practical so we really didn't
have that either, but we've probably had sixty to seventy percent.
What's there now? Some of the same old questions come up,
(04:05):
but it's definitely probably got a little bit more technical
and a little bit I don't know if I'd like
to be having a crack at it now anyway.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Well, likes of the red flags, Was it the same
back when you were participating?
Speaker 3 (04:18):
There was no red flags back then. They just give
you a bit of a nudge.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
I wondered that.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Probably a good thing. But those red flags really really
throw you around. So I think when they get one,
I think they've got to delay for thirty seconds. So
they've just got to take a breather and look around
them and probably make use of that thirty seconds. So
that's not all bad.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And it just brings into a wider context young farmers.
I suppose Richard, you talk before about not being Joe
Bloggs walking off the street and entering the competition. You've
got to have a bit of a community focus about you.
I think it just reflects the young farmers in the
south to a tea, especially with the awards they picked
up on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Correct, Yeah, I targer yourself and has been a very
strong province over over the history. So and there's a
lot of clubs so they do do generally genders tend
to shine up. But there's certainly a few other clubs
around the country that took away some prizes too, which
was great to see.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
So how long do you give them in the media
rounds before you start cracking the whip and getting him
back on the case of the handley, getting him back
into the shed or whatever, get the back.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Of a shed. Yeah, they'll be interested to see one't
this week will be pretty intense and I think it's
like most farmers, they're pretty keen to put their gun
brits on and roll their sleeves up and just get
back out with their animals. And you calm down, Hey.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Get on, you're Richard.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Thanks for your time this afternoon, yourself, Trude and everybody
be rightly proud of what time's achieved.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Unprecedented.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I'll say it once more, because you won back in
nineteen ninety nine. Your son's followed in twenty twenty six,
So two chapters of the.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Family doing really well.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Thanks for your time this afternoon, and yeah, enjoy the
golden bars because it's well deserved. Thanks Andy, Richard Slee,
father of Tom Slee. I FMG Young Farmer of the
Year twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
How good does that sound? Ben Dooley's up next. This
is the Muster
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