Third‑year apprentice Colby Monk at Cochranes’ Leeston branch will spend a race weekend embedded with the Red Bull Ampol Racing Supercars team at the Christchurch Super 440 this weekend (17-19 April).
The Supercars experience is part of New Holland’s apprentice program which celebrates the outstanding young technicians across its Australian and New Zealand dealer network.
Born in Lincoln, Colby grew up on dairy farms across the South Island before deciding his future lay on the tools rather than in the milking shed.
“I’ve always been more interested in the machinery side of farming—the tractors and equipment—so the apprenticeship route was a natural fit for me,” Colby said.
“I want to keep building my skills on tractors, then get more into the combine side of things and really explore that part of the business.
“Opportunities like the Red Bull Ampol Racing weekend with New Holland just make me even more excited about where this trade can take me.”
Colby completed a level‑3 pre‑trade course before joining Cochranes as an apprentice and is now on track to finish his agricultural technician qualification by April next year.
Based at Cochranes’ Leeston branch, he mainly works on New Holland T6 and T7 tractors for dairy, cropping and seed‑growing customers across the Canterbury Plains.
James Foster, Service Manager at Cochranes Leeston, said Colby had recently moved into his own field service vehicle, handling on‑farm diagnostics and repairs.
“Field work can be daunting when you first leave the workshop, but Colby has really excelled,” James said.
“He’s confidently diagnosing issues on farm and getting customers up and running again, which is exactly what we want from an apprentice at his stage.
“When we’re planning work and we’ve got a job that has a bit of challenge to it, Colby is often the one we’ll send,” he said.
Colby is the second Cochranes Leeston apprentice to earn the Red Bull experience, following Flynn Greer, who attended Bathurst in 2023, a clear sign of the strong talent‑development culture within the branch.
“It’s a huge thing for the supercars to be coming to Christchurch, and having one of our own apprentices in the Red Bull garage makes it even more special,” James said.
“Giving young people opportunities like this shows them they’re valued. It shows them there are some pretty cool things they can be part of if they knuckle down and do the work.
“It’s not easy to get good young people into the trade, but when apprentices around the country hear that someone like Colby from Cochranes Leeston got to spend a weekend with the Red Bull team because of the way he applies himself every day, that’s the kind of thing that gets talked about.”
CNH New Zealand Business Manager, John Gilbert, said the apprentice program helps attract young people into agricultural trades by showcasing where the job can take them.
“We want young people in regional New Zealand to see that a career maintaining cutting‑edge farm machinery can open doors to experiences they might never have imagined,” John said.
“Recognising apprentices like Colby, and giving them access to the Red Bull Ampol Racing pit lane, sends a strong message that technical careers in agriculture are exciting, respected and full of opportunity.”
Cochranes, founded by Herb Cochrane in 1951, is a family‑founded agricultural machinery dealership now in its 75th year, with around 107 staff across five South Island branches located in Amberley, Leeston, Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, Greymouth and Blenhiem.
Its Leeston dealership services customers across the Canterbury Plains from the Rakaia River to the Waimakariri River, including the Selwyn district.