Secondary students from the lower and mid-central areas of the North Island interested in careers in food and fibre will be in Palmerston North on Friday, March 10th, for Agri Futures | Ahuwhenua ki te Anamata.
The day comprises two events managed by the New Zealand Rural Games Trust:
Secondary and area school students from Paraparaumu through to Napier, Taupo and New Plymouth in the north will compete in a fast-paced, amazing race-style competition that sees rangatahi compete in teams of four to be crowned champions! Teams will have an hour and a half to complete 18 hands-on modules covering everything from fencing and drenching to wool classing and body condition scoring, as well as paper-based modules that cover native fish and tree identification. New modules for 2023 include first response health and safety delivered by St. John and artificial insemination delivered by LIC. Tangaroa Walker will emcee the race from Farm 4 Life and The Hub – a social media edutainment creator with nearly 340,000 followers. Paralympian Gold Medallist Javelin Thrower Holly Robinson MNZM, The Associate Minister of Agriculture Meka Whaitiri, alongside other leading food and fibre sector leaders will present awards.
New Zealand Rural Games Trust Chair Margaret Kouvelis MNZM said the two events were created to showcase the variety of career options available, to upskill youth and encourage camaraderie.
We need more rangatahi embarking on rural careers to meet the increasing demand for staff across the country. Through Agri Futures, we’re arming people with knowledge to better prepare them for the job ahead.
Agri Futures | Ahuwhenua ki te Anamata is made possible thanks to Allflex, Massey University, Horizons Regional Council, UCOL | Te Pūkenga, CEDA, Inspire Net and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Also, on Friday, March 10th, in The Square, two national championships will be held. The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Womens and Rookies championships. Twelve timbersport athletes will compete to represent New Zealand at the internationals.
Agri Futures Pathways and Clash of the Colleges will feature in the Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games TV3 1-hour highlight programme hosted by Greg O’Connor and Olivia Caldwell:
