Competition boosts community spirit

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.