An apprentice from Ayr has taken out a major award at the John Deere Australian Technician of the Year Awards in Brisbane overnight.
Darcy Miller from Honeycombes at Ayr was named John Deere Service Apprentice of the Year.
Hailing from the Burdekin region, the fourth-year apprentice spent his childhood helping his grandfather around the family cane farm.
He said winning the category was a big achievement for him and his family.
"I've loved tractors since I was a kid and regularly volunteered for work experience at Honeycombes before starting a school-based apprenticeship, which led to my full-time role," he said.
"I've worked on mowers right through to large cane harvesters, but tractors are still my favourite piece of machinery. I just love seeing the advancements in technology that really help improve farming practices."
Lachlan Corridan and second time winner, Sarah Lewis, were named the Agriculture & Turf Service Technician of the Year and Parts Technician of the Year respectively, while Poppy Blohm received the Parts Apprentice of the Year Award against a competitive field of Australian and New Zealand apprentices.
John Deere Australia and New Zealand managing director Luke Chandler congratulated each of the Australian winners and emphasised how important their work was to prosperous industries and local communities.
"Lachlan, Sarah, Darcy and Poppy have demonstrated exemplary performance among a high calibre field of finalists and should be incredibly proud of their efforts in taking home their respective Awards tonight," Mr Chandler said.
"There can only be one winner in each category, however after meeting many of the technicians in Brisbane over the past few days, it's clear we have a terrific pipeline of talent servicing John Deere equipment and supporting our customers across the country.
"I would also like to acknowledge the New Zealand winners, Bryce Dickson, Jimmy O'Donnell and Mark Haughton for their achievements tonight."
FULL LIST OF 2023 JOHN DEERE TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS:
Australian Agriculture & Turf Service Technician of the Year - Lachlan Corridan, Haeusler's, Sea Lake, Victoria
New Zealand Agriculture & Turf Service Technician of the Year - Bryce Dickson, Brandt, Whangarei, North Island
Australian Parts Technician of the Year - Sarah Lewis, Brandt, Terang, Victoria
New Zealand Parts Technician of the Year - Jimmy O'Donnell, Drummond & Etheridge, Blenheim, South Island
Construction & Forestry Technician of the Year - Mark Haughton, Drummond & Etheridge, Rolleston, South Island
Service Apprentice of the Year - Darcy Miller, Honeycombes, Ayr, Queensland
Parts Apprentice of the Year - Poppy Blohm, AFGRI Equipment, Narrogin, Western Australia
