1st FMG Jr YFOTY L-R Eddie Millichamp & Sophie Atkins. Mount Hutt College. Photo/ Supplied.
1st FMG Jr YFOTY L-R Eddie Millichamp & Sophie Atkins. Mount Hutt College. Photo/ Supplied.
A duo from Mount Hutt College have taken out the title for Aorangi FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year 2021.
Sophie Atkins and Eddie Millichamp topped the points table for the regional competition.
The contest for high school students in Teen Ag Clubs was held in Methven on Saturday, running alongside the Aorangi FMG Young Farmer of the Year (FMG YFOTY) Regional Finals.
The duo was 'pretty pleased' with their win, with their preparation work before the competition paying off.
"It was a really enjoyable day, the modules were all really fun and educational. The coolest thing I learning what a capon is," Eddie said.
"We tried to prepare as much as we could. We looked at the tips and tricks we got and did a lot of research on different companies. There were some challenging elements but it was great," Eddie said.
Runner up FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year was awarded to Kieran Chisholm and Robert Firth from Geraldine High School.
Image 1 of 7: Ana Edkins, Ellie Moore & Olivia Connor. Geraldine High School
"I think we both really enjoyed the buzzer round and learned a lot from all the modules," said Kieran.
Both teams have been invited to compete at the Grand Final in Christchurch in July which runs alongside the FMG YFOTY Grand Final.
Third place was taken out by Quinn Foley-Smith and Brody England from Geraldine High School, while Lexie McCully - also from Geraldine High School - received FMG Junior Young Farmer competitor of the day.
The AgriKids competition for primary school aged children also ran alongside the teenage and senior contests.
Team work made dream work for a trio from Carew Peel Forest School who were crowned the winners, made up by Ana Edkins, Ellie Moore and Olivia Connor.
"We all worked really well together, I think we learned that team work gets you places!" said the trio.
Second place was awarded to Ethan Graham, Callum Tait and James Lansdowne, with Alice Johnson, Laura Hyde and Chiara Wright in third.
The top three teams have all been invited to the Grand Final in Christchurch in July where they will compete against 21 other teams from across the country.
About FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year:
Teen Ag Clubs in high schools across the country aim to introduce teenagers to the agriculture, food and fibre sector – from farming and growing, to fishing and horticulture and everything else in between.
Members can compete in teams of two in the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year contest in their region.
The pairs tackle eight theoretical and practical modules hosted by sponsors across a range of topics.
Modules in the past have included animal anatomy, fencing, meat cut I.D, gun safety, equine, agronomy, feed budgeting, chainsaw assembly and more.
The top five teams then head into "the face off", a famous Young Farmer of the Year buzzer styled quiz where points are then added up and the winners decided.
14 FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year teams will battle it out for the national title in July, at the Grand Final.
About AgriKidsNZ Contest:
The AgriKids contest is open to all primary school age students across the country where contestants compete in teams of three.
They complete a series of modules hosted by sponsors on the day before the top seven teams head into the race off where they undertake a sequence of tasks in a time and points challenge.
Gumboot throwing, fencing, driving go-karts, sack racing and fitting chains on motorbikes are just some of the practical activities the teams have had to tackle in previous years.
Theoretical modules surrounding livestock breeding and genetics, farm safety and healthy soil have also been challenges for teams to wrap their brains around.
