The most rewarding part of Josh Carter's job is "seeing a farmer happy with the operation of their machinery after we have supported them".
Mr Carter is one of Australia's passionate machinery technicians in an industry that is crying out for more skilled workers.
Based at Horsham in Victoria's Wimmera region, the dual-tradesman and father-of-two has been with Emmetts for the past 15 years and worked his way up through the ranks to become a senior technician.
"I think for a lot of us, we've fallen into the roles," Mr Carter said.
"We've grown up with childhood interest in pulling things apart, working out how things work, breaking it, seeing if we can get it back together ... and it just transitions into bikes or cars or trucks or tractors.
"And once we get a taste for it, it's sort of like developing a passion from there on in."
Last year Mr Carter's outstanding diagnostic ability was recognised when he won Australian Ag and Turf Service Technician of the Year in the inaugural John Deere Technician Awards.
During the judging process, he excelled in the remote backup support section, which highlighted his thorough technical knowledge and ability to swiftly troubleshoot and maximise machinery uptime.
Mr Carter said being part of the inaugural awards was a "massive honour and privilege".
"I know just how hard technicians work each day, so to be named a finalist among so much talent really meant a lot to me," Mr Carter said.
"This is an industry that never stops evolving, growing and progressing, so there is never going to be a shortage of something to learn, which is another element of the role I enjoy."
Another crop of technicians will soon be recognised with more than 100 nominations received for this year's awards.
The awards are split into several categories - Service Technician of the Year, Parts Technician of the Year, Service Technician Apprentice of the Year and Parts Technician Apprentice of the Year - across the agriculture, turf, construction and forestry industries.
John Deere Australia and New Zealand managing director Luke Chandler said the role of technicians is remarkably diverse.
"Australia and New Zealand is home to some of the best technicians in the world," Mr Chandler said.
"Last year the awards showcased an incredible line-up of finalists made up of men and women who had proven track records of helping farmers and businesses unlock greater productivity and sustainability achievements through their technology."
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Mr Chandler expected the competition would be fierce throughout judging during which services and parts technicians' will be tested on their ability to problem solve both hands-on tasks and technical troubleshooting.
"Our techs are highly skilled in performing machine diagnostics and repairs, and utilise remote support tools to optimise machinery performance for their customers," Mr Chandler said.
"The job can vary from enacting the precision agriculture setup on a combine in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia for harvest, to tweaking GPS settings on turf equipment at one of the country's premier golf courses."
Nominations for the 2022 John Deere Technician Awards have now closed.
Regional finalists will be announced in July and judging will take place in-person from August 3 to 5 at the John Deere Australia and New Zealand headquarters in Brisbane.
Winners will be recognised at an awards event planned for August 5.
