Newdegate Machinery Field Day: Stakes sure to be high for inaugural Young Farmers Challenge

Agricultural young guns in the Great Southern are about to put their farm skills and knowledge to the test at the inaugural Newdegate Farmer’s Challenge, and the stakes are sure to be high. Newdegate’s rendition of the popular contest will be similar but different to other young farmers competitions held at field days in WA, including the Wagin Woolorama, Dowerin Machinery Field Days, and Mingenew Midwest Expo. A much-loved part of every one of these events, the Young Farmers Challenge and Newdegate’s Farmer’s Challenge concept is simple. Participants are invited to form a mixed-gender team of four to take part in a series of farm-related challenges. Billed as the ultimate “test of skill and intellect”, the top team will be named the Newdegate Machinery Field Days Farmers of the Year. Specifics of the challenges will be unveiled on the day, but hints include billy boiling, finding the lupins, a boot toss, woolly roll, and recycling tinnies — in line with the Field Days theme of “sustainability and recycling” theme. As well as bragging rights, the top team will receive $250. Behind the push to introduce the contest to the Newdegate Machinery Field Days is local farmer Tim Walter. A father of three boys, he said he had been inspired by the success of the event at other events in WA. “We have seen the success at other events and I think it will really add to the fun,” he said. Newdegate has experienced an influx of young couples in recent years, and Mr Walter said this would be the perfect opportunity for them to show off their farming skills. While traditionally for those aged 18-35, Newdegate has decided to open their version to all ages — with players from the local Newdegate Football Club and Newdegate Netball Club firmly in Mr Walter’s sights, both of which are operating with a healthy number of participants. Inspired by the Young Farmer Contest held in New Zealand since 1969, the events have become increasingly popular across Australia. As well as racing the clock, competitors lose points for sloppy behaviour and receive time penalties for not cleaning up or not doing a job properly. Competitions at other field days have included both physical and mental challenges including pumping up a tyre, identifying crop diseases, untangling and rolling straps, cleaning a workshop, and rolling a swag. After spending 29 years in Newdegate, Mr Walter joked he and his wife Claire — best known for running the field days’ famous Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association’s donut stall — were “almost locals”. The couple farm 10km east of Newdegate with their two sons Jack, 26, and Tom, 24, while their third son Harri, 22, is having the “time of his life” cattle mustering on a pastoral property in Northern WA. The Walters moved to Newdegate from Bridgetown, when they were in search of more land to run a bigger farming operation. The Newdegate Machinery Field Days Young Farmer Challenge will be held at 1pm on Wednesday, September 6, at Site 92 in the Machinery Section. The Newdegate Machinery Field Days is September 6 and 7. View the digital edition of the 2023 program here.