Two year ten students beat out their senior competition at the Aorangi FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year competition.

Mid Canterbury’s Leo Acland, 14, and Charlie Clark, 13, secured the win and a place to nationals in Invercargill, though they weren’t expecting it.

“[It was] pretty crazy, because everyone else in the competition was older than us, like year 11 and up,” Acland said.

“We were not expecting to even podium.”

The pair worked through seven competition modules, from health and safety, pest trapping, diseases, fencing and cow breeding during the day.

They were one of five finalists who made it to a quiz round, a first-to-hit-the-buzzer contest that tested their knowledge across the agriculture sector.

Acaland said the trickiest portion of the day was “the fencing, I definitely didn’t practice the fencing enough.”

But the day was an overall success because he and Clark worked well together.

“He’s a good mate, he was at school many years ago with me,” Clark said.

The two have been prepping for nationals in July, which will see competitors from across the country tiki tour down to Invercargill.

“I have to work on my relations and public speaking,” Clark said, “because we do have to read a speech.”

He’s been talking to his school friends who take ag class to gather intel from them too.

“And just been paying attention to Dad, listening to the things he’s been saying about what’s going on at the farm.”

Acland said he’s been doing his research too.

“[Nationals] is a big step up apparently, we do a bunch of practical things.

“I’ve been [just] trying to cram and learn as much stuff as possible.”

While the pair will be up against senior high schoolers, years 11s to 13, Acland reckons they have a “pretty good chance” of taking out the junior young farmer trophy this year.

by Anisha Satya