Young farmers from the north and north-east enjoyed a successful competitions weekend at the Royal Highland Show.
Lifting the coveted club of the year prize, which is one of the highest accolades you can win at the Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs (SAYFC), was Bower YFC in Caithness.
The club’s secretary, Lynn Sinclair, said: “It’s such a great achievement for a small club.”
She said the club, which celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, has 45 members. It partakes in a range of activities throughout the year including silage pit covering to raise funds.
Another coveted SAYFC award to be presented at the show was the Ritchie Trophy which recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to the young farmers’ movement – this year’s recipient was Margaret Wright.
SAYFC national chairman Stuart Jamieson, who farms at Home Farm, Pitlurg, Slains, Aberdeenshire, said: “A member of Machars YFC she (Margaret Wright) quickly rose through the ranks to be elected ladies chairman of the then south-west area. After completing her time as a member she has remained involved with the association sitting on various committees and trusts that work behind the scenes to ensure the association continues to thrive for the benefit of rural youth.”
Mr Jamieson, who was appointed to his post earlier this year, went on to highlight the success of the association’s new mental health awareness campaign – Are Ewe Okay?
He said: “What we are trying to do is to bring to the attention of rural youth, the triggers and causes of poor mental health and the symptoms a sufferer may exhibit. Delivered regularly over social media, we are also sharing the stories of several very courageous SAYFC members, who have battled with mental illness and have volunteered to divulge their experiences with our members.
“We hope to reach as many people as possible to really get as big an impact as we can. Since launching just six weeks ago, our social media posts have reached almost 50,000 people, and offline the campaign has featured in over 30 publications with a combined readership in excess of 700,000. We will continue to build on this but what a phenomenal start.”
SAYFC president Elspeth Dale, who was also present at the show, said the association’s alumni programme – Friends of Young Farmers – had more than doubled its membership in the past 12 months. The programme costs £25 a year and all the money gathered goes to SAYFC.
