In the last week of Term Two, Zoe McElrea and her brother Millar, from John McGlashan College, competed in the Junior Young Farmer of the Year Competition inWhangarei, finishing with a fantastic placing of fourth overall out of fourteen teams at grand final and roughly 200 nationwide.

On Thursday, the pair began their competition with an examination, in which they placed fourth. Friday was a practical day , for which Zoe and John gave a speech on the impacts of lab grown food, built a bridge, created a riparian planting, and  sawed and stacked wood for a farmlet. Next, they completed seven modules ranging from planting kumara, to pre-ride checks on a four wheeler and to carting water in increasingly inventive ways from one tub to another. Despite the challenges posed by wet weather, the pair placed second in the farmlet, fourth in the speech and sixth in the modules.

Friday evening commenced with the top five competing in the much-anticipated Buzzer quiz, in which the duo eventually placed fourth after some very tense competition to be the first to press the buzzer. A huge thanks to the Paterson Family for supporting this experience.

Zoe looks forward to competing next year, with hopefully some other Columba students joining them in their own teams. Keep an eye on the notices for your own chance to get involved next year!!