KEY POINTS:
The real competition to find the country's best young farmer begins today, but those determined to be champion yesterday demonstrated their farming - and flower-arranging - prowess for the school-holiday crowd in Rotorua.
The seven finalists in this year's Young Farmer Contest and last year's winner are divided into two teams - one from the North Island, the other from the South Island - for the launch of the National Bank competition.
Performing in front of a crowd at the City Focus square, the all-male group of rural highfliers stopped midday shoppers in their tracks as they arrived in a convoy of quad bikes.
After a show of strength pushing two Ford Territory four-wheel-drives down a road, the teams turned their attention to carving an America's Cup out of a log with a chainsaw.
Television personality Jim Hopkins, who was Mc, urged the boys to create "an America's Cup to be proud of, better than the one Bertarelli's got".
The North Island team got off to a slow start after their first farmer failed to get the chainsaw started until seconds before his two-minute go at the log expired.
But after eight minutes, North Island was declared the winner by the cheering, slightly biased crowd. The cup bore some resemblance to a trophy, still attached to its podium log.
Meanwhile, the South Island had chopped their effort free of the stump, ending with a roundish object with a hole through the middle.
"I'm not sure if it's the Auld Mug or the old jug," Hopkins said.
Next was a flower-arranging contest judged by Nina Healey, a three-time gold medallist at the Chelsea flower show.
The boys were given a box of flowers to arrange in a new black gumboot, all producing creations that were deemed impressive.
The gumboots were auctioned off later.
Support for local lad Richard Fowler was strong among the crowd and he told the Herald he wanted to win this year.
"I'm aiming to give it my best, but they're all pretty sharp guys," he said.
Fowler came fourth last year and like Hawkes Bay's Callum Thomsen has made the finals a second time.
Besides technical skills, the contestants will also be required to give speeches and make a presentation on a farming innovation they have researched.
Tomorrow, they will compete at farm tasks at Rotorua's Village Green before a formal dinner in the evening, and a televised event on Saturday.
The contest is expected to inject $1 million into the Rotorua economy.
