Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year Hannah Wallace Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer of the Year Hannah Wallace has plans for her prize money.
The 22-year-old won $3000 when she took out the title in May and has put it straight in the bank. At the end of the year she wants to buy a house, and in ten years’ time hopes to be in a position to lease a farm.
She says she’d quite like to buy a farm one day but knows it’s a huge commitment.
“Dad’s always said sometimes a manager’s job can be just as rewarding because he’s owned his own farm and he worked hard every day for his whole life and he didn’t have the flash cars or the big boats and he never went on holiday because he couldn’t afford it… yeah we’re going to see where it takes us.”
Hannah lives with her partner Jeremy Bright at Whakaki, a ten minute drive north of Wairoa. She splits her time working on the farm Jeremy manages, and working on her parent’s farm.
Hannah is the first woman to win the Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer title and has loved taking part in the awards process.
“It’s an awesome experience and the amount of people that you meet is insane."
Since winning the accolade Hannah has been asked to speak at a number of functions.
"It’s pretty scary though actually from being no-one to actually people wanting you speak at their conferences and dinners… you do get nervous and you speak fast and there are lots of things to improve on so hopefully I can keep getting chances to improve.”
