rivettingKateTaylor

Welcome to Palmerston North!

It’s raining. Surprise surprise. The bad news is that if you’re heading to the Grand Final of the National Bank Young Farmer Contest you’ll need gumboots.

That’s it though!! The good news is that there are seven amazing young men vying for one of the most prestigous prizes in rural New Zealand (not to mention a $90,000 first prize package and a cool trophy).

Today has been spent at the function room at the Awapuni Racecourse watching the guys (from seven Young Farmers regions around the country) do a five hour technical exam about leasing a block of land, be interviewed by a panel of three judges, mediate in a farming property dispute in the human resources challenge and present an indepth research project to another panel of three judges. Phew!

And if that’s not enough to make you sleep well, they still have to present a three-minute prepared speech to a couple of hundred people at a dinner tonight.

Their bodies will be on the line tomorrow as they attempt all the practical challenges. Double phew.

Hopefully I won’t be too shattered to let you know how tomorrow goes.

Don’t forget to watch TVOne at 9.30pm on Saturday night. Or some photos are on www.flickr.com/photos/rivettingkatetaylor and click on Young Farmer Contest. Obviously- although you are welcome to look at my other snaps 🙂

P.S. I am at the Grand Final as the media liaison person for the Contest (paid to come to something I love!)