While many may struggle to pinpoint its location, Te Kawa West Young Farmers Club continues to punch above its weight.

The Te Awamutu-based club regularly features in annual Waikato-Bay of Plenty YFC competitions, this year qualifying for the North Island final of the debating contest.

Organiser Sofie Adelaar said the regional event started in April and involved four clubs – Te Kawa West taking on Piarere, and Morrinsville-Ngarua up against Reporoa.

Debates were an hour long, featuring teams of three from each club.

Sofie says three independent judges are engaged for each debate, with topics sent to teams prior to the respective contests.

Te Kawa West headed off Reporoa in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty final in Rotorua in May, before going down to Taranaki-Manawatu in the North Island decider – via Zoom – last month.

The North v South final is part of the Young Farmer of the Year competition programme in Invercargill.

A member of the WaiBOP regional committee, Sofie ran the first two rounds of this year’s debating contest.

She has been involved in YFC for five years and recently became the Morrinsville-Ngarua club chairwoman.

Originally from the Netherlands, Sofie worked on a dairy farm at Morrinsville before taking up a landscaping role in Matamata last year.

She says the aim of the debate competition is to develop public speaking, logic and argument skills as well as the ability to communicate clearly, concisely and effectively.

Invaluable skill

“The ability to communicate clearly, concisely and effectively is an invaluable skill for all members to learn.”

Sofie says the contest showcases the talent of young farmers.

“The debates, like the Young Farmer of the Year grand final, offer a platform for young farmers to challenge themselves and demonstrate their abilities.”

The debates help young farmers develop essential public speaking, critical thinking and communication skills, she says.

Open to all New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) members, the NZYF tournament aims to develop the interest and skill level in stock judging, fencing, clay target shooting and debating, Sofie says.

Waikato-Bay of Plenty FYC regional winners, competing in the grand final in Invercargill, are:

Fencing: Stephen Brunskill (Hamilton City) and James Grafton (Te Kawa West).

Stock judging: Cam Clayton (Morrinsville-Ngarua), Hayley Brunskill (Hamilton City) and Joanna Fowlie (Piarere).

Clay target shooting: Alistar Hartstone (Hamilton City).

This year’s Te Kawa West YFC debating team comprised Thomas Young, Graham Johnson and Jenna Korsten.

Jenna and Thomas also represented the club in last year’s regional debating contest.

During the year the club is involved in a variety of regional activities, plus its own events and fundraisers.

This includes the annual Top Dog Challenge against other clubs in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty, along with an interclub paintball contest.

On the home front, Jenna says Te Kawa West YFC enjoys an annual mystery bus trip and ski excursion.

Step up

A member of the club for two-and-half years, Jenna stepped up to vice-chair at the club’s recent annual meeting after a stint as treasurer.

Jenna came from a dairying family at Tokoroa and linked up with the Te Kawa West club through her farming partner.

“I was interested in meeting like-minded people,” she says.

Jenna provides after-sales service across the upper North Island for cattle monitoring technology business CowManager.

She is also undertaking online correspondence study on animal food and nutrition.

Te Kawa West Young Farmers Club has about 40 members, says Jenna. “It has stayed pretty stable in recent years.”

She says membership includes a range of rural professionals, plus sheep and beef, and dairy farmers.

Monthly meetings are held in Te Awamutu, with membership stretching from Taupiri to Ōtorohanga.

Te Kawa West YFC has a proud history in the prestigious Young Farmer of the Year contest, particularly relating to the Poole family.

In 2023 Emma Poole became the first-ever female champion, following in the footsteps of her brother Tim Dangen, who won the national title the previous year.

Emma had previously qualified to represent Waikato-Bay of Plenty in the grand final in 2019, while her husband Chris similarly represented the region in 2022.

Now on a family farm at Pirongia, Emma and Chris met at Massey University Young Farmers Club.

Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Agri-Science degree, while Emma completed studies to become a veterinarian.

Past winners of the Young Farmer of the Year title, representing Waikato-Bay of Plenty, have included current Waikato MP Tim van de Molen and former Waikato Federated Farmers chairman Keith Holmes.

NZYF was established in 1927, originating as a way for young people in rural communities to connect, share knowledge and support one another.