Samantha Thomson started out as a shepherd. Photo / Supplied
Pukemiro Station cadet Fergus Casey thought he'd just go along to the Young Farmers competition with another cadet to "give it a crack".
Samantha Thomson was competing for her second time in a district competition.
Now both will be preparing for the regional finals to be held in Waipukurau in March 2022.
Fergus, who grew up on a small lifestyle block in Cambridge, joined the Dannevirke Young Farmers at the start of the year, the same time as he began his cadetship at
Pukemiro.
This year he had been studying the more general side of sheep and beef farming, but was looking forward to doing more in his second year.
The cadetship at Pukemiro Station was a two-year training course that included hands-on training in stockmanship, animal husbandry and farm technology as well as personal training in leadership and goal setting.
Fergus said he got into farming through work experience.
"I'm keen on animals and the outdoors," he said.
Sam, who grew up in Hawke's Bay, wasn't from a farming background.
"Mum's a vet nurse and Dad's a mechanic," she said.
She started out as a shepherd and was crutching sheep before taking her career in a different direction earlier this year to rear calves.
She joined Young Farmers in February 2020.
Contestants had to be versatile in the district competition as they had to complete 12 modules, all related to the field each sponsor was in.
"Every module had different things you had to do," Sam said.
Such as putting a milking cup together, attaching it to a machine and milking a cow.
Or being able to identify all the safety features on a tractor and commentate as if it was an on-road situation, Fergus said.
While the participants were tested on their practical skills, their know-how was also tested with general knowledge questions.
Both were now working hard to be ready for the East Coast regionals, where the competition would be fierce with a head-to-head challenge.
New Zealand Young Farmers chief executive Lynda Coppersmith said every year the competition improved despite the tests that Covid-19 had provided for the third season in a row.
"For season 54 we really want to test our competitors and see 'who's up for it'.
"We've already exceeded last year's entry numbers across the country, despite the fact that entries for a number of district contests are still open."
"All of our volunteers and conveners right across the country have created some incredible challenges so far, with Regional Final season expected to take that to another level."
There were two other young farmers from the area who also qualified for the regionals: Josh Wilkinson from Dannevirke and Mark Wallace from Norsewood Young Farmers.
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