No. 8 Wire: Spotlight on keeping everyone safe

Contestants will have plenty of tasks to complete in the Young Farmer of the Year competition regional finals in Greytown on March 21.

Safer farms, a multi-year programme designed by farmers and the wider agricultural sector, WorkSafe New Zealand and the Accident Compensation Corporation, was launched by the Government this week.

"More people die working on farms than in any other industry in New Zealand and too many are seriously injured. Safer Farms aims to change that," says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse.

"Safer Farms is a new way of tackling a longstanding problem hurting rural New Zealand. It's about education, awareness and support for rural communities."

Since 2008, 120 people have been killed working on farms, with four times as many fatalities last year compared to the forestry or construction industries.

Safer Farms takes the health and safety message directly to rural communities - through rural retailer education, school programmes, "how to" sessions at field days and by working with rural industry groups to provide on-site training.

The programme includes an easy-to-use toolkit and a comprehensive online resource - www.saferfarms.org.nz - so farmers have clear health and safety advice.

Choicest cuts sought

The race is on to find the nation's choicest pieces of lamb and steak.

First will be the Glammies, dedicated to finding the most tender and tasty lamb, with sports stars such as canoeist Lisa Carrington, paralympic swimmer Sophie Pascoe and BMX racer Sarah Walker helping the final judging at the Wanaka A&P Show on March 13.

Entries have closed and the top 20 finalists are being determined at Carne Technologies, Cambridge, based on yield, tenderness, succulence and colour of each entry.

But the door is still open in the hunt for New Zealand's best sirloin steak, with entries closing on February 20.

Semifinalists are also being decided by Carne Technologies and the winner of the Steak of Origin title will be named in Palmerston North on May 11.

Taste buds set to tingle

Organisers of the Central Districts Field Days at Manfeild Park, Feilding, from March 12-15, say it will be the "tastiest" yet.

Taste of Central Districts will showcase the region through food and wine and food innovation and research experts FoodHQ will be on-site to talk about the science being carried out in New Zealand.

FoodHQ, with a campus being developed in Palmerston North, is a globally significant centre for agri-food science with expertise across the food value chain, from idea generation to products sitting on the shelf.

Regional finals on

The ANZ Young Farmer of the Year competition is steaming towards its annual showdown.

The East Coast regional finals will be held in Greytown on March 21, featuring qualifiers from the Hawke's Bay, Tararua and Wairarapa finals which were held in October and November last year. The national final will be held in Taupo on July 2-4.

The national Young Farmer of the Year will receive a Kellogg Rural Leaders Programme scholarship worth $6000, and the winner of the Lincoln University Agrigrowth Challenge during the grand final will be given a $10,000 international exchange scholarship.

Rural showdown

The first New Zealand Rural Games are set to rock in Queenstown this weekend, with events ranging from the more well-known A&P show-type sports of shearing, and sheepdog trials, to farm-fencing, gumboot throwing, coal shovelling and cherry-stone spitting.

The event was the dream of promoter Steve Hollander and it also includes speed tree-climbing, speed hand-milking, and wine-barrel racing.

Most are converted to speed formats suitable for entertaining the crowds and will be part of a televised package fronted by former rugby and cricket international and now rugby broadcaster Jeff Wilson.

Several Hawke's Bay people will be competing, including shearers Dion King, Cam Ferguson and Adam Brausch, who will be in a 10-man, two-hour speed-shear on Sunday.