Young Farmers

I often find myself comparing certain aspects of life in the UK to life in NZ, but something I’d never considered was a comparison between Young Farmers Clubs in both countries. That was until I got invited to a YF party here in England by friends of mine, one of whom just so happened to be organising it. Always one to “take the meeting” and never one to turn down a chance to socialise, of course I accepted the offer.

It wasn’t until afterward I thought about my involvement in a YF club while I was studying in NZ, and began to compare the two, at least from a social aspect, which led me to writing this post. So, considering my last blog was published on an agricultural website, I have a degree in agriculture and I work in the animal nutrition industry, this could well be my most ag-related post to date. How ironic.

Before I start, I have a couple of disclaimers:

1. This blog compares two great parties at two very different times of my life. If you’d rather not read about it, best to stop here.

2. Young Farmers do a lot more than just socialise (though they are good at it). Don’t judge the concept purely based on what I’m about to write.

So the battle of this blog is between The Keg Race of 2013 (in Palmerston North, NZ) and The Foam Party of 2016 (in Norfolk, England). I think the general theme of both parties is pretty self-explanatory. It’s probably worth mentioning that one of these events had the potential to raise money for their club, the other not so much. I’ll let you work that out for yourself.

The similarities started at the very beginning: The Foam Party was being held on the same property as a zoo, and The Keg Race was held in the back yard of a student flat in Palmerston North… However I do believe that there was more zoo-animal-like behaviour occurring at behind that house than there was in Norfolk.

Entry to these parties is where differences start to creep in: one was very controlled, and the other not so much. Place your bets now… At The Keg Race, all that was on offer was beer (surprise), so if you weren’t on a team that was racing, it was BYO for you. At The Foam Party, there was an actual bar with quite the range, so there was no need to provide your own jagerbombs. I found this out the hard way, as per: all cars were being checked on entry, and I had forgotten that I had a nice bottle of NZ wine in my car.

The next aspect of comparison is party attire. For The Keg Race I was well prepared (as you can see in a photo below). Being a race, we were in teams, and my team went as some form of superheroes – we did have a witty name, but I can’t remember it for the life of me. “Superbeeros” rings a bell…However, for The Foam Party, I hadn't checked the dress code and I was well under-prepared. I’d been to a party that had foam before, but this one took foam to a whole other level – a level I didn’t discover until I was there. So I had two options: black jeans or blue jeans. Neither were very appropriate (I would have been better off if I’d still had my suitcase from my sail around Croatia), but what was I going to do? Black jeans it was. Despite that, one of the perks of knowing the organiser of the party was that I got a Young Farmers t-shirt. I may not have known many people there, but at least I kind of looked like I fit in.

The atmosphere of both parties was the same – everyone in high spirits, enjoying themselves. At least I certainly was. The endings, however, were vastly different. At The Foam Party we all left absolutely drenched. I mean we were dancing around in foam that was being sprayed from the ceiling, and then building up to levels that were taller than me. I’ve never seen anything like it. Back in Palmerston North there was a couple of things that signaled the end of the shindig. The first was the empty kegs being built into a tower, and people climbing it, while the second was the bonfire that was made from the old couches we had been sitting on all day. I mean it was technically winter, and no one would have wanted those couches after anyway…

So the two events both had their similarities and they definitely had their differences. I think the biggest variation between the two, though, was my actions the following day. I can’t remember exactly, but I think it’s safe to say that after The Keg Party of 2013 I spent the next day watching movies at our flat and ordering in pizza. After The Foam Party of 2016 I went to help clean up the venue the next morning (granted there wasn’t much left for me to do), then I helped to build a temporary fence (in jandals) and later on that afternoon I helped to herd some escaped cattle back into their paddock on my friends’ farm.

All else aside though, for me it always comes down to the people. Both parties had brilliant people in attendance, the difference being I knew most of them in 2013, and very few in 2016. But when you have a common thread tying everyone together it really doesn’t matter either way, you’re bound to have a good time.

So my recommendation: if you get invited to a Young Farmers event, go!

As always I’m going to finish with a quote. This one may not seem particularly relevant, but it was told to me following The Foam Party, and it’s stuck with me since…

“It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.”

That’s all for now,

Jordyn x