Planning is on track for the 2021 FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest, due to get under way next month.
New Zealand Young Farmers is confident the district contests, which begin on Saturday, October 3, can be held at Alert Level 1 or 2, after a disrupted year when the annual contest was cancelled for the first time in its 51-year history due to Covid-19.
"At Level 2, we would have some protocols in place around managing social distance or even having spectators and contact tracing and sanitiser would be in place," an NZYF spokesperson told Central Rural Life last week.
"We are still in Level 2, so we are planning for that. The only trouble would be if it goes to Level 3 or 4, but for the district contests you are generally talking about pretty small numbers, so we think we can manage that."
Protocols were still being worked out so regional finals could go ahead if the country or local regions were in Level 2 at the time.
Regional finals, due to be held from February to April, also include the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year and AgriKids regional competitions, so attracted much bigger crowds.
District contests begin on October 3 in the Maniototo (Otago-Southland region) and the Waikato-Bay of Plenty region.
The Tasman region contests are due to be held on October 17 (Tasman south) and November 14 (Tasman north), while Aorangi region young farmers will be lining up on October 24 (Fairlie) and November 7 (Methven).
Some of the venues are still being finalised following the recent cancellation of A&P shows.
The 2021 grand final is due to be held in Christchurch in July, after the region missed out on hosting this year’s event.
