The centre of Palmerston North will ring to the sound of chainsaws and woodchopping, alongside farm animal noises from sheep and horses to miniature ponies and working sheepdogs, for three days from Friday.
The New Zealand Rural Games is back and this time there is a heavy focus on youth to lift interest in the rural economy and rural sports.
Rural Games founder Steve Hollander said they have introduced several new initiatives like the Agri Futures careers day and expanded youth-related championships.
"We hope to nurture the next generation of rural sporting athletes and aid those interested in taking up many jobs and career opportunities available right now in rural New Zealand."
The Clash of the Colleges has also grown, attracting teams from New Plymouth to Napier to Wairarapa and Paraparaumu. Sixty teams of agri-students will battle it out over 30 modules, including cowshed plant washdown, wool classing, body conditioning scoring, and paper-based modules covering seeds, weeds and fertilisers, and rural sports.