Northam team win Young Farmers Competition State final against Wagin, Beverley and Serpentine-Jarrahdale

A group of four friends from Northam with a passion for rural agricultural events have taken out the top Young Farmers Competition in the State after an impressive win at the Perth Royal Show. The winning team — who are all members of the Northam Agricultural Committee and help to organise the Northam Agricultural Show — included locals Deanne Ashman, Caitlin Reynolds, Cameron Fernihough, and Toodyay resident Dylan Johnson. While none are farmers, each drew on their agricultural and regional experience to win the contest and $1000 shared prize. They faced off against three other State finalist teams, with Beverley placing second, Wagin third and Serpentine-Jarrahdale fourth. The Northam crew have now qualified for the national final at the Melbourne Agricultural Show in September next year, something Ms Ashman said the group were “extremely excited about”. She and her friend Mr Johnson were part of a four-person team that won last year’s Young Farmers Competition state final and jetted off to Adelaide in September this year to compete in the national final at the Royal Adelaide Show. “We came last in the national competition. . . but we had so much fun,” Ms Ashman laughed. “We were lucky we had a friendly and quick goat, that dragged us along. And we also did well with our reversing skills.” As their day jobs, Ms Ashman works as an education assistant, Ms Reynolds a sales consultant at Avon Valley Toyota, Mr Johnson a heavy diesel apprentice at AES Equipment Solutions, and Mr Fernihough as a boiler making apprentice at the Water Corporation. They blitzed the field at seven challenges, which included stuffing a wool bag full of hay, reversing a ute through some cones, walking together on two planks of wood, throwing a yabby net, planting trees, bandaging one of their team mates and pushing them in a wheelbarrow, and then running part of the course with a goat on a lead. Two goats called Honey and Norah — who earlier competed in the RASWA Dairy Goat Competition — were brought to the competition by their handlers and seemed to enjoy being part of the action. The action-packed event attracted plenty of cheers and laughter from the crowd, particuarly from the partners of one of the Northam team members who was heard cheering on the sidelines. Gabalong farmer Gavin Craig joined Royal Agricultural Society of WA vice-president Anne Stroud to emcee the event, providing plenty of animated commentary to the thousands of people watching the competition at the Showground. Ms Stroud told the competitors she appreciated the effort those taking part had gone to be at the Showgrounds on a Saturday afternoon, especially just hours after the AFL Grand Final. “It’s all about having a good time and contributing to your local agricultural show,” she said. NextGen WA president Kelly Gorter, who co-ordinated the competition, said the event was a huge success. “It’s such a great way for the local shows to have an interactive activity. . . our whole aim of NextGen is to engage that 18-35 age group and get them involved with their local show,” she said. Agricultural Shows Australia president Robert Wilson, who is based in WA, was on hand to congratulate the winners as the head of the organisation that represents all 580 agricultural shows Australia-wide. “In recent years we have put a lot of resources into getting our NextGen WA groups really organised. . . there is now equipment they can borrow to run Young Farmers Challenges at their shows,” he said. “At each state, there are a number of challenges held before a State final and then a national final.”