Marton leads the pack in farming challenge

Harriet Whitfield, Mark O'Shanassy and Jack Norman, the South Makirikiri School team The Three Makateers on the way to winning the national AgriKids challenge last week. Photo/Nikki Hockly

South Makirikiri School proved it was the country's best when it comes to farm skills by winning the national AgriKids competition last week.

Not only that, but the Marton school had two other teams qualify for nationals, giving the Rangitikei school three teams in the top 21 in the country.

Earlier this year the three teams of three competed in the Manawatu-Taranaki regional competition, claiming all three podium places. The AgriKids challenge is a farm skills competition for primary school children run by New Zealand Young Farmers.

The national winning team, the Three Makateers, included Mark O'Shanassy, Jack Norman and Harriet Whitfield. The other two teams were the Mak Mowers who were Emma Hockly, Catherine Torrie and Kate Wigglesworth, and The Manly Maks - Tom Turkington, Angus Grant and Nick Minnis.

School parent Nikki Hockly, who went on the Christchurch trip, said the AgriKids challenge was becoming an integral part of the school calender.

"The school has got behind it and I think we're trying to make it part of the culture of the school. We are a rural school and a lot of our kids come from farms."

She said it wasn't just the winning team that deserved credit but all three teams.

In the national final, teams were tested in a range of scenarios including first-aid, identifying tools, sheep breeds and farm products, making sausages and putting an irrigator together.

In the race-off the pupils had to measure the right amount of food for hungry working dogs, wrap a hay bale, stack tyres, taste test juice, grade eggs, throw gumboots and, for the explosive finale, make a geyser with Coca-Cola and Mentos.

The school put in a lot of preparation before the event led by farmer Craig Wigglesworth, who taught the pupils farming skills at lunchtimes helped by other parents.

The pupils led a lot of the preparation and fundraising to get the teams to Christchurch and they also had help from sponsors.