07 Nov Young Farmers Star’s Shine at Annual Awards
National Competitions and Events Chair Jane Donald explained the reason behind the awards:
“SAYFC are immensely grateful to the Clubs and members & those who support us so brilliantly throughout the year. These awards are a small appreciation for the efforts and achievements of our outstanding young farmers community”
Here is a list of the awards presented on the night and their worthy winners:
Outstanding Contribution Award (Supported by RHASS)
This year’s recipient was Kay Adam.
Kay was recognised for her commitment to the association through her continued support of her local cub Forfar and to the Angus Tayside District, hosting many events from stockjudgings to demo nights, judging at competitions and also being a mentor to many. Alongside this, in her role as dedicated SAYFC director at RHASS, Kay has been a huge support and driven many improvements at the Royal Highland Show for the welfare of young people.
Speaking on the night Kay was taken aback by her win:
“I’m really honoured to achieve this award. As a past chairperson of Perth Young Farmers, I was involved quite heavily throughout the club and can say Young Farmers has made me the person I am today. I’m now a YF mum with 2 kids in the club. And have progressed into ‘grown up’ things, I became a director of RHASS. And being on the board, I was given the great honour of being director in charge of Young Farmers at the show. In this role I wanted all the members in this generation to have as much fun and more than I did in my generation.
I didn’t come here expecting to get an award, it was really emotional, I’ve won cups in my time with Young Farmers but this is a special one. And to be added to the list of winners for this award, there are some amazing people on there, so thank you.”
Community Engagement Award (Supported by Galbraith)
Winners: Garioch YFC
Despite its small size and relatively young committee, Garioch have a big impact in their local community. They strive to get involved in as many ways as they can including; their annual Muck Sale, running a stall at the Insch Strawberry Fayre, hosting community evenings like their Soup and Sweet event and Quiz, and even volunteering to repath the local Church Grounds.
Club Chair Callum Simpson, had this to say on the night:
“I’d like to thank everyone in the club for all that they’ve done throughout the last year to cement our place in the community. Really getting our name out between the church and the other local organisations that we’re helping nowadays. I’m really pleased that the club has managed to win this award, for being such a small club we’ve done really well to achieve it amidst some hard competition this year.”
Driving Force Award (Supported by Dales LLP)
Winner: Heather Thom (Ayr YFC)
As the current chair, Heather has reignited her club’s competitive spirit, strengthened their finances through local sponsorship and introduced a variety of engaging events and activities for members. All alongside her full-time job as a Senior Project Engineer and studying for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Heather was delighted with her win on the night:
“I’m absolutely over the moon to be awarded the Driving Force Award this year. My one ambition this year was to drive the club forward; relight that competitive spark, get us working as a team and also having fun at the same time.”
Innovation & Wellbeing Award (Supported by SGN)
Winner: Lesmahagow YFC
The club and specifically the members of the band Bagri were recognised for the impact of their cover of ‘Leave a Light On’ by Tom Walker to help promote SAYFC’s ‘Are Ewe Okay’ campaign. Through several emotion charged performances and a viral music video that has amassed 480,000 views and garnered recognition from across the globe, their version of the song has touched the hearts of the agricultural community and carried with it the important message to check in on those around you and to talk with each other when times are hard.
Singer, Mia Crooks had this to say on the band’s behalf after their win:
“We cannot believe that we got this award, we are so excited. We can’t believe it’s come so far, the video was one of the highlights of my Young Farmers career and I’m sure I’m talking for everyone here as well. Thank you so much for this. We wanted to do something with this cover, make it mean something and right now mental health is such an important topic in Young Farmers with everything that’s going on in the world. So please remember to keep a light on for anyone you know, who may be lost in the dark.”
Rural Ambassador (Supported by RHASS)
Winner: John McCulloch (Stewartry YFC)
John has become a well-known face in Scottish agriculture. He is a passionate voice for farming’s future, writing articles, canvassing with politicians and representing Scotland’s rural youth at major events and panels, even speaking on behalf of Young Farmers in Holyrood.
John spoke on the night about what Young Farmers means to him:
“The thing that means the most to me about the Young Farmers is the community that we have, so many like-minded individuals in the one organisation. It doesn’t matter what you’re involved in or what you’re doing, you can always pick up the phone or speak to someone else in the organisation and they’ll give you ideas and a bit of advice if they’ve been through something before that you’re wanting to do or be part of. I think that’s the biggest thing for me, it’s the community aspect, the friendships you can make in the Young Farmers. This award means a huge amount to me with working with the Agri & Rural Affairs committee in the past and really trying to champion Young Farmers in the wider industry. Winning tonight means a lot and I’d like to thank everyone that nominated me.”
The Richard Huxtable Award (A Special Presentation by RSABI)
Recipient: Duncan Maclellan (Inverurie JAC)
Duncan has been a brilliant ambassador for mental health within the industry, completing multiple challenges for mental health charities and drawing from his own experiences in an effort to destigmatise the act of opening up about mental health. This year, Duncan has completed 2 epic challenges for RSABI, walking across the country from Aberdeen to Morar (184 miles) in his wellies, and climbing Bennachie seventeen times in a row (the equivalent of Mt. Everest!).
Duncan’s Mother Isla accepted the award on the night:
“When we heard that Duncan had won this trophy, it was even more special as for a long time we have been family friends with the Huxtable family and Richard actually taught him for a while in Sunday School. Bennachie, first of all was a tough 24 hours but the coast to coast really took it out of him, he camped every night with it raining for most of the time and to this day I don’t know how he did it. I am very proud. That he has taken his experience from 2 years ago and his own mental health problems forward and is now able to help others in the same situation.”
The Michael Dunlop Award (A Special Presentation by the SAYFC International Trust)
Recipient: Penny Montgomerie
Penny was instrumental in reviving the International Travel Programme after the forced break created by covid restrictions. Keeping alive vital links with rural youth organisations across the world and spearheading the introduction of heightened checks and safeguarding measures to ensure the future of these incredible opportunities.
International Trust Chair Sandy Wilkie (MBE) presented the award on the night and had this to say about Penny’s contributions to international travel:
“Over the last few years there has been substantial change with activities in the young farmers, safeguarding coming in and covid kicking in. And the person that has overseen these changes, very successfully, is Penny Montgomerie. In Young Farmers we sometimes think about only the members and we don’t think about our staff as often as maybe we should. Penny has been instrumental in making sure everything’s developed over the last few years and has run smoothly, particularly during Covid. Young Farmers need to thank her for a lot and this was an appropriate way to do it through the International movement so well done to Penny”
Young Farmer of The Year (Supported by ATV Services, Galbraith, Royal Bank of Scotland, Cefetra and Johnston Carmichael)
The night ended with the announcement of the Young Farmer of the Year 2024. A full report of the competition can be found at the link below:
Young Farmer of the Year 2024 Report
Young Farmer of the Year- Jack Young (Carluke YFC)
2nd Place- Beth Farmer (Kinross JAC)
3rd Place- Stewart Shaw (Ednam JAC)
Following the presentation of the Awards, attendees were treated to a special surprise performance of ‘Leave a Light On’ by Bagri before an auction was held to raise funds for the Association, expertly conducted by SSS YFC member and auctioneer Murray Steel. The evening was sealed with a Vote of Thanks from National Communications and Marketing Chair Wallace Currie before members and supporters danced the night away.
SAYFC would like to thank all of those who supported the night and gave up their evening and money in appreciation of our members and their achievements.