Southland dairy farmer and social media personality Tangaroa Walker has been named Ravensdown Agricultural Communicator of the Year.
The award, run by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators and announced at Fieldays, recognises those who have made major contributions to the agricultural sector through communication.
Last year’s winner was Farmers Weekly editor Bryan Gibson.
Walker uses social media to tell the story of how he discovered a love of farming and now uses that profile to promote the sector and provide training.
He overcame a rough start to life in which he was adopted twice, attended six different schools by the time he was six and had never read a book – but lived to play rugby.
Then he discovered dairy farming and today runs a successful 500-cow dairy farm while also reaching out to a worldwide audience through his Farm4Life online video learning platform.
Via this medium he features industry leaders but provides learning modules on tasks such as feeding, calf rearing, machinery and repairs and maintenance.
He also provides videos on a variety of life topics and hobbies, his love of fishing, assisting with managing finance, family and issues to do with mental health.
