With three trades to his name plus jackaroo skills from a year spent working on a sheep station, 2026 John Deere Australian Agriculture & Turf Service Technician of the Year, Brady Gunter, brings a true all-round skillset to his role at Hutcheon & Pearce, Wagga Wagga.
Brady was first nominated for the award in 2024 and two years later has emerged as a national winner, thanks to new skills and confidence gained from achieving Master Technician status.
Brady grew up in Port Macquarie, NSW, and began his career in mechanics as a mobile plant technician, completing a Certificate III in Mobile Plant Technology.
In 2020 he decided to swap the workshop for a job on "Tom's Lake", a 60,000-hectare Merino sheep property in the NSW Riverina region that was first settled in the late 1800s.
"That year gave me a better understanding of the pressure that farmers are under, especially when the windows are short, and the experience played a big role in my decision to move into agricultural machinery," Brady said.
With a fresh perspective, Brady joined Hutcheon & Pearce in Finley and later transferred to Wagga Wagga in 2022, where he continues to build his career. Since moving into agriculture, Brady has added a Certificate III in Agricultural Mechanical Technology and a Certificate III in Automotive Electrical Technology, making him a triple-qualified tradesman.
He has also achieved Master Technician status, reflecting a self-motivated appetite for increasing his capability to service complex machinery.
Hutcheon & Pearce Wagga Wagga Service Manager, Matt Pike, said Brady's broad experience and proactive attitude have made him a trusted presence in the workshop, particularly when diagnostics are not straightforward.
"The thing with Brady is he doesn't panic or guess. He'll slow it down, work through it properly, and get to the actual cause, which gets the customer up and running quicker," Matt said.
"What I respect most is that he's not protective of what he knows. If an apprentice or another tech is stuck, he'll take the time to explain the problem in a way that makes sense.
"Brady is also big on development. He's always looking for the next bit of training and has gone out of his way to do extra, including capstone training on large ag machinery.
"That's not something you can teach, that's just attitude."