increase font size
Halcombe School Agrikids, planting trees.
The real winner of this year’s FMG Young Farmer Region-off have been the regional communities.
This year’s competition, which sits alongside the FMG Young Farmer of the Year, saw more than 1091 meals cooked, 22 loads of firewood donated and delivered and 3390m of fencing completed in New Zealand communities.
It’s part of a shift for the competition that sees AgriKids, Junior and Young Farmers competing in a regional showdown earning points through public voting and community focussed challenges. Most of this takes place in the six weeks leading up to the Grand Final, this year held in Hamilton.
The winner of this year’s Region-off was Taranaki-Manawatu who managed to collect 2,095 public votes, 5,514 points in community contributions and 22 points at the event itself when regions were pitted against each other in a firewood challenge.
FMG’s head of events, travel and sponsorship Charlotte Cooley says this was the second year of the principal sponsor’s Region-off competition.
“It is great to see the competition generated between the regions and more people getting on board with earning points through community-based challenges or rallying local votes in the lead up to the Young Farmer of the Year grand final.”
Previously, the sponsor had got behind a People’s Choice category which generated buy in from the regions – but without the local benefits.
“I love that this model encourages giving back to the community,” says Cooley.
Dubbed the Farmstrong Challenge, the regions are challenged to complete community-minded tasks and initiatives in the quest for a $5000 cash prize from FMG to go to a worthy community cause of their choice.
“We love reading through the entries each week and seeing the amazing things people are doing to give back. Things like gardening for the elderly and spending time visiting retirement villages through to getting stuck in helping out their school caretakers.
“It is another example of the benefits of Young Farmers Clubs to their local communities and exactly why FMG continues to support them,” says Charlotte.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly reckons rural Manawatu families are the latest to suffer under what he calls the Government's "performative restraint" - penny pinching on needed community stuff while the bureaucrat head count and wasteful spending in Wellington charges on undiminished.
The Government has announced that ACC will be a sponsor of this year's FMG Young Farmer of the Year competition.
OPINION: After years of ever-worsening results from our education system, the startling results from a maths acceleration programme stood out like a dog’s proverbials – the trial producing gains of one full year in just 12-weeks.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Minister for Universities, Shane Reti, has opened the final new build in a ten plus year project to upgrade the veterinary facilities at Massey University.
The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) today announced that Chief Executive Officer Sirma Karapeeva has resigned from the role.
The winners of the 2026 Hawke’s Bay/Wairarapa Dairy Industry Awards were announced at the annual awards dinner held at Copthorne Solway Park in Masterton on Thursday evening.
Environment Southland is welcoming this week’s decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to approve the release of Blaptea elguetai, a leaf‑feeding beetle that will help control the highly invasive Chilean flame creeper.
This March, the potato industry is proudly celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March alongside the International Year of the Woman Farmer, recognising the vital role women play across every part of the sector — from paddocks and packhouses to research, leadership, and innovation.
Fruit trader Seeka posted a record profit and returns to shareholders in 2025.
Recent weather events in the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne/Tairawhiti, and Canterbury have been declared a medium-scale adverse event.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly reckons rural Manawatu families are the latest to suffer under what he calls the…
OPINION: If old Winston Peters thinks building trade relations with new nations, such as India, isn't a necessary investment in…
