Building relationships key for Henry
Growing up in one of South Australia's best known wine regions, the Barossa Valley, Henry Barkley was destined for a career in agriculture.
After helping his uncle on his farm every school holidays, Henry ended up doing work experience in the local John Deere dealership and fell in love with it straight away.
His role as a service apprentice has now taken him 330km further east, to the famous fruit-growing town of Mildura in Victoria.
"I was just amazed by the John Deere equipment and the innovation and thought 'This is the place I need to be'," Henry said.
"I got an opportunity with Haeusler's and decided to move to Mildura and take on the rest of my career there, and I'm absolutely loving it."
While Henry recognises there are sometimes challenges with his role, he said the most rewarding part is the customer relationships.
"Just being able to get out and meet people and work and learn about their business and enterprise and be a part of it and just keep them going," he said.
Henry was excited and honoured to receive his award in what has already been a big year. As well as moving interstate, he bought his first home with his partner, Jaymee Ireland, who was the John Deere Agriculture & Turf Service Technician of the Year Award winner in 2022.
"I'm quite blown away by the award and proud of the journey I've taken and the challenges I've faced, and now my award can go on a stand in the house next to Jaymee's," Henry said.
"It's just been an awesome opportunity. So to grab the win, it was just kind of a really good sense of relief. It's been something I won't forget, that's for sure."
Henry's advice to people looking to get into the industry is to give it a go.
"You've got to come try it out," he said.
"It can be tough, but it can be really rewarding once you help the customer out, see their machine back running and being a part of their business.
"It's just awesome."