Napier Boys' High School dominates at Junior Young Farmer

Junior Young Farmers of the Year Matthew Halford and Finn Beamish. Photo / Supplied

Napier Boys' High School has dominated the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year awards, with students taking out the competition and runner-up spots.

17-year-olds Finn Beamish and Matthew Halford won top prize at the awards, which were held on Friday.

Beamish said it was great to get a second shot at the top prize, having come in as runners-up in Invercargill last year.

"We're both rapt that we won.

"It was great to have been through the process before. It meant we knew where we needed to improve."

The competition, which took place in a somewhat cold, damp and muddy Hawke's Bay Showgrounds, tested students' practical and theoretical knowledge.

Tests included installing a farm water system using Hansen products, spotting safety faults on a piece of agricultural machinery and sitting an agribusiness exam.

"I really enjoyed the module involving the New Holland police tractor," Beamish said.

"We had to drive a tractor towing a trailer loaded with silage bales and a police officer pulled us over to question us about road rules."

Halford said the pair was caught by surprise by the Massey University module on sheep.

In second place, Guy von Dadelszen and Macabe King. Photo / Supplied

"We weren't expecting that. It was quite challenging. We had to identify different breeds of sheep and types of wool."

The pair take home $5000 worth of prizes.

In second place were 16-year-olds Guy von Dadelszen and Macabe King , also from Napier Boys' High School.

"We'd really like to thank our agriculture teacher Rex Newman. We wouldn't be where we are without him.

"He's been setting us challenges to help grow our knowledge and organising opportunities to hone our practical skills."

In total there were 14 teams competing for Junior Young Farmer - two teams from seven regions across New Zealand.

The prestigious FMG Young Farmer of the year was won by Auckland-based business graduate James Robertson .

Central Hawke's Bay's Joseph Watts took second place.