Scotland’s very best young stockmen and women are vying for British team selection ahead of competitions at the World Angus Forum.
The contest will play a fundamental role at the Forum, which is being brought “home” to Scotland by the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society.
Launched in 1999, the society’s Youth Development Programme (YDP) works towards an overarching aim of encouraging younger and future generations to enjoy working with cattle.
Around 300 young people, from the age of eight to 25-years-old, are now actively involved with the industry-leading national series year on year.
The programme, which welcomes all cattle enthusiasts and is no longer restricted solely to the Aberdeen-Angus breed, aims to further both the academic and practical skill set of young stockmen and women.
Programme co-ordinator Gayle Bersey said: “The YDP goes from strength to strength every year with more workshops, excellent weekend final facilities and an amazing array of talent from the participants.
“It has been designed specifically to raise the confidence and skill level of youngsters – enabling them to work towards industry recognised qualifications and awards.”
Workshops cover everything from beef cattle handling to preparation skills for shows and sales, stockjudging and public speaking.
But this year, the arrival of the World Angus Forum in Scotland has raised the bar to include an additional international YDP competition, for senior teams and individuals.
“There will be a number of young international representatives and teams involved in the World Angus Forum Youth Programme and its contests,” said Ms Bersey. She said teams will be taking part from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as from across Europe.
Competitions will focus upon stockmanship, agri-skills and sports, butchery and public speaking, with two home nation squads representing Britain.
Beginning on Wednesday, June 21, and running through until the closing days of the Forum, a grand youth final will take place on Sunday, July 2, at Netherton and HW Angus on the Blackford Estate, in Perthshire.
The intervening days will include farm and business visits, activities and the World Angus Forum Conference, and will also envelop the stockjudging contest at the Royal Highland Show.
“Each team will comprise of four people from the age of 18 to 25, with at least one member of the opposite sex in each quad,” added Ms Bersey.
“There will be a maximum of three teams representing any one country and two from the home nations.”
A total of 16 young people from across Britain have put their names forward into the mix in the hope of representing their country at the World Angus Forum youth contest, but only eight will be selected to compete.
The team selection process began with a written essay before applicants were invited to attend an interview day.
They will also be assessed on their participation during the upcoming YDP senior conference.
The final selection for the two British teams will be revealed next month.
