Ready, set, go - popular working dog contest off and running today to test their endurance

For the next three weeks teams of farm dogs will compete in the 2022 Cobber Challenge relay.

This year's popular competition will feature teams and not individual farm champions as it has in the past to celebrate the teamwork which goes into running a farm.

The new format recognises farmers often work dogs in teams, or pick certain dogs to do different tasks, like mustering mobs of cattle or pushing sheep through yards.

Now in its seventh year, the 2022 Cobber Challenge Relay will run from today to September 11.

Farmers have nominated teams of two, three or four dogs.

Each day of the three-week competition, the farmer will select one of their nominated dogs to wear a GPS collar, to track how far, fast and for how long they work.

In previous years of the competition these GPS collars have produced staggering results.

Last year's winner, Victorian kelpie Amazing Jack travelled an amazing 697km in the first two weeks of the competition and he was never headed.

This year's competitors are:

Nick Foster of Boorowa, NSW - Koonama Working Kelpies incl. dogs Cracka, Drake, Scorcha and Bundy.

Olly Hanson of Corinella, NSW - Lost River Kelpies incl. dogs Jake, Bowie and Hex.

Sarah Richards of Coolah, NSW - Nerremen Kelpies incl. dogs Kora, Spud, Cash and Tank.

Georgie Constance of Binalong, NSW - The Young Guns incl. dogs Belle, Beau, Murray and Jess.

Darius Cosgrave of Tintinara, South Australia - Superior Wool Merino incl. dogs Jip and Boots.

Ali Hodgson of Greenways, South Australia - Circus incl. dogs Opie, Becham Floyd and Midi.

Jordan Flemming of Fingal, Tasmania - Redhead Kelpies incl. dogs Nuts, Claire and Nip.

Ryan Eade of Bodallin, Western Australia - Hill View Kelpies incl. dogs Flick, Millie, Tezz and Suzie.

Taylor Bird of Mount Somers, New Zealand- Hakatere Station incl. dogs Bruno, Kate, Tom and Moss.

Melissa Smith and Dan McKinnon of Skipton, Victoria - Anywhere Crutching incl. dogs Caviar Keith, Roy, Pip and Jude.

Dane Simmonds of Myrniong, Victoria - Parwan Prime incl. dogs Ruby and Tully.

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Genine Jackson of Charters Towers, Queensland - Team Turbo incl. dogs Whiskey, Buck and Nick.

The results will be combined to crown the winning team.

Their data is uploaded daily to the Cobber Challenge website so fans can follow along with their favourite working dog teams.

Olly Hanson, a farm manager from Corinella in New South Wales says his team of three Kelpies - Jake, Bowie and Hex - will be getting busy with a mixed program coming up.

"We've got a few stock moves planned, going through some sale sheep, weaning some early calves and marking the current batch," Mr Hanson said.

He's looking forward to finding out ... "I might be surprised by how fast they can go over the timeframe."

Mr Hanson also looks forward to seeing how Jordan Flemming, a fellow competitor from Fingal in Tasmania, goes - because Olly bred one of Jordan's dogs, Claire.

Mr Flemming is a stockman on a 20,000 acre grazing farm. Other than Claire, a three-year old Kelpie, his team consists of Nuts and Nip. Nuts is a two-year old Kelpie while Nip, only one and a half, is a Kelpie cross Huntaway.

He thinks seeing the speeds and distances the dogs cover is going to be a "huge surprise".

"I'm most excited about seeing how much work the dogs really do put in."

Throughout the competition, Jordan and his team will be in peak shearing season. So they'll be doing lots of shed and yard work, alongside some land and paddock work.

Meanwhile, back in NSW, Sarah Richards is keen to see which of her four Kelpies, Kora, Spud, Cash or Tank, clock the most kilometres.

Ms Richards, a senior station hand from Coolah, might be a familiar face to some. She competed in the Cobber Challenge in 2017.

"We will have a bit of yard work to do, but I anticipate the majority of our work will be out in the paddocks putting mobs together pre lamb marking and mustering stray stock."