Each month, we catch up with one of SAYFC’s north area members.
What is your background?
Home for me was a small village on the East coast of the Scottish Borders. I grew up on a mixed family farm of sheep and arable so the bug for agriculture started at a young age, like it does for many of us in our industry and it’s safe to say it hasn’t worn off. Now living in Aberdeenshire, near Methlick, with my family, it’s not only been a change in area but also a change in language and climate. Though not as cold and wet as you may first think, however, I’m sure you will all disagree after the wet month of July we have been getting.
What do you do for an occupation?
I work as a Farm Manager for John Lind (J&WF Lind) Overton of Keithfield. We farm a mixture of high-grade seed potatoes, arable combinable crops and work as a multiplier for the Stabiliser Cattle Company with a herd of suckler cows. It’s never a dull day with plenty doing at all times of the year.
What is your favourite time of the year?
Spring has to be the best time for me; the days start stretching, grass starts to grow and the mud dries up, or at least we hope it does! Lambs and calves on the ground and a bit of sun on all of our backs just seems to brighten everyone’s day up. The winter crops start marching through growth stages and we have summer shows to look forward to with the chance to catch up with friends and neighbours.
Are you an office bearer and why did you join SAYFC?
My Young Farmers career started back in the Borders with Reston JAC, before moving up to be part of Udny JAC in 2017. I have held roles such as assistant treasurer with Reston, and vice chair and club chair for Udny. I am currently sitting as the chairperson for East Aberdeenshire district and North Agri and Rural Affairs. I looked into joining Young Farmers as a way to get to know more people within the area and meet like-minded people, but also – and probably most importantly at that time – to have fun! It’s safe to say that Young Farmers has certainly provided that.
What opportunities has SAYFC provided you?
Being part of SAYFC has taught me how to conduct committee meetings, how to approach people who you don’t know with regard to setting up club meetings, deal with differences of opinions, and write reports. Skills that we need in every walk of life, but seldom get the chance to learn or practice them. For me, the chance to be part of the Agri and Rural Affairs committee has been a big part of the last couple of years. Getting to be able to contribute to being a voice for young people, let other industry bodies hear what we have to say and putting input forward to discussions on Ag Policy has been really interesting. It is all things that are going to affect us and it’s nice to know that we can at least try to have some input with the support of SAYFC behind us as a committee.
What do you think the future looks like for a Young Farmer? And what challenges will they face?
The future looks great for Young Farmers in my eyes. The world needs fed and we can’t all live on laboratory grown protein, so in that instance I think we should be looking forward to the challenge. Change within Scottish agriculture is going to happen, but the fundamentals have to stay the same. We will try to be greener and we will try to lower our emissions, but realistically what is greener than mixed farming with a closed loop that each enterprise supports the other helping to maintain fertility and soil structure and ensure that the land we farm is productive? Not only do we provide a capture for carbon, but we maintain the landscape – dare I say custodians of the land? Farmers are the reason our landscape that surrounds us is as well cared for as it is. Therefore, the challenges I believe we will be faced with are emissions, carbon capture and public perception.
What are your life ambitions and why would you encourage somebody to join SAYFC?
My life ambition would be to have a successful stand-alone farming business on either owned or tenanted land. I would encourage anyone who has an inclination that they wish to join SAYFC to get on board. So many people that I know have been helped to realise their dreams and ambitions through what SAYFC has been able to offer. It is a fantastic organisation that offers so much to so many people and really is for everyone.
