2024 FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year
By Hayden Drummond | Posted: Monday July 29, 2024
Recently Shamus Young and myself had the privilege to compete in the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year competition.
This event showcases the exceptional skills and passion that high school students in New Zealand have for the food and fibre sector.
The journey started at the Otago/Southland regionals where we competed against over 30 other teams from the region. The regionals consisted of 7 modules which we felt we did well in. After all the teams had completed the modules the top 5 teams were named to go into a head to head quiz. After the completion of both sections of the competition we were confident we had done pretty well.
The announcements came a short while later and we were named as the winners of the Otago/Southland region. This booked us a spot in the Grand Final.
From the regionals to the Grand Final the journey was intense. It required us to dive into blind study covering all areas and aspects of agriculture. oliver
Anything from horticulture and aquaculture to winter feed management and disease prevention. We had huge help from Kirsten McIntyre (an old teacher of Shamus’) who provided us with information, tasks and links to very useful people such as fencers and AI technicians. It wasn't until two weeks before the final that we received hints and the five speech topics to choose from, allowing us to refine our study and prepare for the specific challenges ahead. Alongside our study, we also dedicated time to writing and memorising our five minute long speech.
The Grand Final was held in Hamilton from 11-13 July, during the last school holidays. It was certainly a significant step up from the regional competition. The event kicked off with a technical day on Thursday afternoon with an hour-long exam that tested our knowledge of farming practices. The exam included writing an essay, answering 50 short answer questions, and solving a large maths problem related to feed budgeting and destocking a sheep farming property. We felt confident about our performance but had to wait until Friday night to know the results.
Friday was the practical day of the competition and demanded an early start at 6am. The first challenge was the farmlet, a two-hour task involving the repair of a flood-damaged farm paddock. This included digging in posts, creating a stay and demonstrating proficient knots and wire work that is needed to create a high quality 3 wire fence. Alongside this we also had to plumb a large concrete water trough and build a weta hotel.
In the midst of the farmlet, we also had to deliver our five-minute long speech to an audience and judges, which showcased our agri knowledge and communication skills. Our speech was on what the future of farming looks like to us. After the completion of the 2 hour farmlet we moved on to the modules. The modules consisted of 7 different stations that ran for 15 minutes each. They covered a diverse array of topics relating all different types of agriculture. Some of the modules included how we prevent nitrate accumulation in food, soil and water, preventing antibiotic resistance in stock, testing for and setting up treatment plans for dairy cows with mastitis, lambing an artificial ewe experiencing a difficult birth and even driving a brand new tractor around a paddock to set it up with satellites to create A - B lines for auto steer.
Later on this same day the top 5 teams were named based on the total number of points gained across both the technical and practical days. We were named as one of these teams that then went into a fast buzzer agri knowledge quiz. This was performed in front of 500 people and was very nerve wracking. At the conclusion of this we were named the FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year!
Overall Results:
First place of the 2024 FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year:
519.1 points out of 585Practical Farmlet - 1st place - 80 points out of 100
Head to Head Quiz - 1st place - 20 points out of 25
Speech - 2nd place - 82 points out of 100
Exam - 2nd place - 50.1 points out of 60
Modules - 3rd place - 287 out of 300
Image Gallery
