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Fixing fences and throwing gumboots was all part of the rural taster course that was the Clash of the Colleges in Canterbury.
More than 200 student competitors took to the paddocks of Arion Farm Education Park in McLeans Island for the event, run by education organisation Agri Futures in collaboration with Land Based Training.
Farming-related challenges saw student teams learn how to class wool, change ute tyres, practice firearms safety and more in the pursuit of winning the champion title.
"We're testing students' knowledge, but we're also getting students outside their box of thinking," Agri Futures general manager Daniel O'Regan said.
"There are so many different careers available in the food and fibre sector."
Agri Futures run the Clashes around New Zealand, one of two ways it aims to inspire passion for rural careers in young people.
It also provides free in-class modules to further those showing an interest in agriculture and horticulture. The modules do not grant NCEA credits but are designed to "support students in their academic endeavours," according to the Agri Futures website.
"When we were set up, we realised that it's tough for farming families out there," O'Regan said.
"And we can't compete with rugby, netball, that sort of stuff, out-of-school activities.
"So we created something that was in school, didn't put pressure on families, but worked alongside the curriculum."
The modules are created with the help of a teacher advisory board.
This year an advisory board for the Clashes was formed — entirely made up of students like year 12 Darfield High School student Tessa Bamford.
"I started competing when I was in year 9, and I just really loved it," she said.
"I don't live on a farm, but a lot of people in my family have farms and I've always been around agriculture, and it's always been something I wanted to go into."
She and eight other year 11 and 12 students around New Zealand will analyse data following the clashes and give feedback to Agri Futures about how it could better cater to its audience, O'Regan said.
"You've got industry saying 'this will be a great idea for a module'. So we take that to the teachers, and the teachers tell us whether it's going to work.
"But we've never really had that group of youth that have experienced it, done it, and looked at it from their perspective.
"That's the next generation, that's the ones that are going to be working on farms and orchards."
Having done several Clashes, Bamford said she saw herself as part of that next generation, farming in Canterbury to be near family.
"Sheep and beef would be something I'd be really interested in doing, like a farm cadetship or going to Lincoln."
