Jock Bourke competing in the farmlet challenge at the Taranaki Manawatū Young Farmer of the Year regional final.
Jock Bourke competing in the farmlet challenge at the Taranaki Manawatū Young Farmer of the Year regional final.
A Massey University student has been crowned Taranaki Manawatū’s top young farmer, despite being the youngest competitor in the field.
Jock Bourke, 19, was announced as the winner of the Taranaki Manawatū FMG Young Farmer of the Year on Saturday evening, after spending the day competingin a series of challenges at the Stratford A&P Showgrounds.
Bourke proved that age was no barrier as the youngest contestant in the regional final, outperforming a strong line-up of experienced competitors.
“I was shocked to see my name at the top of the leaderboard heading into the quiz, and to take out the win was really exciting,” he said.
“I loved the entire day, the committee put on an amazing event, and the other contestants really pushed me to do my best.”
Bourke edged his way to victory by clocking up the most points on the day (274.75 points), defeating Ōpiki Young Farmers member Sheldon Mayo who finished up with a score of 268.
Ethan Muir from Central Taranaki Young Farmers nabbed the final spot on the podium.
Participants enter one of three categories based on age, ranging from the AgriKidsNZ competition for primary school pupils, Junior Young Farmer of the Year for high school students, and the Young Farmer of the Year category, where just seven contestants battle it out for the top spot.
Contestants were tested on a broad range of practical skills, technical know-how, and their ability to cope under pressure, with several individual challenges thrown at them, including a head-to-head, general knowledge “buzzer-style” quiz, and sponsor-led modules.
Young Farmer of the Year Taranaki Manawatū finalists, third place Ethan Muir, (left), winner Jock Bourke, and second place Sheldon Mayo.
Bourke said he particularly enjoyed the farmlet challenge.
“It was a great way to show off my skills, and I was confident in what I needed to do.
“Building a chicken coop out of recycled materials definitely came with its challenges, but thinking on my feet helped massively.”
Bourke said he faced “a lot of preparation” for the grand final.
“I’ll be studying up on a bit of everything, especially sponsor knowledge and my agribusiness skills, to make sure I’m covering all bases.”
The AgriKidsNZ competition was another crowd-favourite.
After a busy morning being challenged to their industry know-how, Rosie Baxter, Kendyl Humphrey and Emily Angove from Feilding Intermediate emerged as the region’s victors.
Arie Jochem, Walter Tweedie and Quinn McNie, also from Feilding Intermediate, came second, just ahead of Millar Mathews, Alannah Connor and Alex Mathews from Ross Intermediate.
Meanwhile, Haylee Baker and Kate Hopkins from Feilding High School took out the title of Taranaki Manawatū FMG Junior Young Farmers of the Year, ahead of Charlotte Askin and Tabitha Askin from Palmerston North Girls’ High School.
Along with Bourke, the top AgriKidsNZ and Junior teams will now compete in July’s grand final in Invercargill.
