Young hopefuls fly flag for Northland

Jake Thomson will represent the Northern region in the 2016 FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest Grand Final. Photo / NZ Young Farmers

A large contingent of Northlanders travelling to Timaru to compete in New Zealand Young Farmers' national competitions on July 7-9 will include a 15-year-old boy whose parents had to get special permission allowing him to compete against rivals aged 18-31 in a fencing contest.

Top billing among the team from the North goes to 27-year-old Jake Thomson from the Whangarei Young Farmers Club who will represent the Northern region in the 2016 FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest Grand Final, which has prizes worth $162,200.

Thomson manages a 180ha dairy farm milking 400 cows at Matarau near Whangarei. He competed in the Young Farmer of the Year contest last year, when he came third in the Northern regional final.

Three teams of Northland students will also be going to Timaru to represent the Northern region in the AgrikidzNZ 2016 Grand Final.

Leading them will be the Gumboot Warriors - Charlie Weston and Caleb Weston from Kerikeri High School and Harry Thomas from Okaihau College - who won the Northern regional finals for AgrikidzNZ selection.

Runners-up Cuzzie Bros - Harry Harrison, his brother Nick and their cousin Jake Harrison from Okaihau College - will also compete at Timaru, as will the third-placed trio Farm Yard Kids - Tre Seakens, Tamsin Jordan and Jaiden Titley from Kamo Intermediate.

Three teams representing the Northern region in the TeenAg Grand Final will be led by the Him n Her pair of Grace Moscrip from Whangarei Girls' High School and Andrew Martin from Kamo High School, who won the Northern regional finals for TeenAg selection.

Fifteen-year-old Brad Martin, of Kamo High School, needed special permission to compete against rivals aged 18-31 in a New Zealand Young Farmers fencing contest next month. Photo / Martin Family

Also going to Timaru are the second place equal duos in the TeenAg regionals - Newbies Rebekah Te Rito from Rosehill and Jonty Morgan from Okaihau College plus Huanui 1 pair Cam Buckley and Finn Cook from Huanui College.

Seventeen-year-old Andrew Martin started Agrikids in 2006 and was a regional winner three times before switching to TeenAg in 2012.

He's been a TeenAg grand finalist four times, including last year with Grace Moscrip, 14.

He also competed in the FMG Young Farmers Northern district final last year.

Andrew's younger brother Brad required a special arrangement so he could take part in the Young Farmers fencing competition.

Their mother Michele Martin, of Matarau, said her sons took after their father, Ravensdown rep Steve "Tractor" Martin, who had made the Young Farmers Grand Final in 2004.

"This will be the first time ever that someone as young as Brad will be competing against all the older young farmers."

Brad started AgriKidz when he was 5 and competed for 8 years before switching to TeenAg.

His fencing partner at Timaru will be 24-year-old Clem Lafon, a Frenchman who has been in New Zealand three years in September and is secretary of the Whangarei Young Farmers Club.