Skills learnt on the family farm gave Hugh Jackson and Angus Kelly the competitive edge needed to win the Waikato secondary schools ag-challenge over the weekend.
The competition attracted secondary schools from across the Waikato and was similar in style to that of the Young Farmers competition with farming relating challenges.
In the early rounds, competitors had to score cows and name different feeds. Seven teams then progressed to the finals which Hugh and Angus described as “agri-sports.”
“It was a race to the finish line with intense activities along the way like building a fence, moving a tire, syphoning water into a bucket, tying knots and wrapping a bail,” Hugh explained.
The duo got their break when the other teams struggled with fence building.
“Everyone was really struggling but we managed to finish and it gave us a real advantage,” Angus said.
The boys say they learnt their practical skills growing up on their family farms. Hugh on a beef and sheep farm in Te Akau and Angus on a dairy farm in Taranaki.
Next year, both Hugh and Angus plan to study agri-commerce at Lincoln University.
