As Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC) and the rest of the country are taking small steps towards slight ease in the members are still organising fun evenings to bring together their current members and stay in touch. Last week saw the turn of Cheadle YFC who hosted a talk by local vet, Hannah Fitzsimmonds of Lambert, Leonard and May.
Sarah Bourne, Club Chairlady of Cheadle YFC said “Last week Hannah gave us a talk about on ‘A life of a Staffordshire farm Vet’ talking about what it’s like to be a vet and then gave us a little talk about calf husbandry. We had lots of members attend the meeting, and it went down really well. Hannah gave us a really good inside of how she became a vet and what day to day life was like as a vet, answering any questions that we had and gave us lots of information about calf husbandry.”
Cheadle YFC was reformed back in 2017 and despite Covid 19, still managed to recruit over 25 active members in September who meet regularly on Zoom.
Staffordshire YFC has members aged 10 – 26 years across ten clubs in Staffordshire and helps to keep young people in many rurally isolated areas connected and provides a much-needed social life. Club meeting nights usually run on a weekly basis, with a wide range of activities available for members of all ages including sports, public speaking, cinema and bowling trips, quizzes and farm walks. Although not all members are from an agricultural background, the clubs in Staffordshire are based in rural communities and provide new skills and learning opportunities, for any young people, with an interest in rural life and activities. The Covid 19 situation has meant that Staffordshire YFC has had to adapt the youthwork service it provides to its members and clubs to an online delivery.
As Staffordshire YFC looks to the future, with the prospect of the lockdown easements over the summer, the federation hopes to be able to plan events to bring together members and rural community together at some of its competitions and social activities, taking into consideration, the latest covid guidance at the time.
During last two weeks, Staffordshire YFC has delivered the second part of its County Public Speaking Competitions programme to members, using zoom. The popular competitions, which help to grow young members public speaking skills; effective listening, current affairs knowledge, confidence and communication, were kindly sponsored by B and B Tractors. Sara Paoloni from B and B Tractors said “We loved being a part the Staffordshire YFC Public Speaking Competitions and are very glad the event was a success for all members involved.” It was a first for Staffordshire YFC to host these kinds of competitions virtually, but was made easier by the use of zoom breakout rooms and members embracing their video cameras and microphones.
For the younger members of the federation, the Junior Speaking Competition was held, with teams from Eccleshall and Uttoxeter taking the first two placings. Members aged 10 – 16 years form teams who act as a Chairman, Speaker and Proposer of the Vote of Thanks. From Eccleshall YFC, Molly Sammons spoke as the main speaker and in Uttoxeter JNFU, Edward Townsend was the main speaker. Both members chose to share the same topic – A Year in Lockdown, with stories of their experiences with home schooling, setting up a local pop-up shop as well as life on the farm and what they missed the most. Eccleshall YFC were awarded first place, with Uttoxeter JNFU coming second.
The Intermediate members (aged 17 – 22 years) took part in the Intermediate Brainstrust Competition, where teams consist of a Chairman and a panel of three members. The Chairman is given six question topics, three of a general knowledge and three on rural affairs, from which they select three for discussion by the team. A lively debate ensues for 20 minutes, and this year topics included the “British Press and the Royal Family”; “Robotic Farming” and “Virtual GP Appointments for the future”. After the judge’s deliberations, the results were announced as Uttoxeter JNFU taking first place, Ashley YFC in second place and Eccleshall YFC in third place.
The senior members (aged 22 – 27 years) took part in the Debating Competition and this saw three very lively debates with very topical themes of “The combination of Coronavirus and Brexit gives the UK a once in a lifetime opportunity to become a more equal society”, “Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing has been neglected by the government during Covid19’ and “With climate change on the agenda and carbon neutral being the buzz words, all livestock farming should be banned”. After debates which lasted just over 35 minutes per topic, the overall results were Eccleshall B YFC in first place, Eccleshall A YFC in second place and Chase YFC in third place.
The first and second placed teams in these competitions will go forward to represent Staffordshire at the West Midlands Area Finals which are also being hosted by Staffordshire YFC on zoom in April.
The Public Speaking Competitions are a great example of the opportunities which all YFC members can get involved in, to develop their public speaking skills, take up new challenges and meet like-minded young people from across the county. Whilst Covid-19 has prevented the social interaction and practical competitions from taking place, Staffordshire YFC members have been determined to continue to deliver a programme of youthwork, with adapted competitions and activities to its members. This Wednesday evening sees Cheadle Young Farmers hosting the Club Night with a talk entitled “The Life of a Staffordshire Vet” for members from across the county to learn more about behind the scenes of farm visits and calf husbandry.
As Staffordshire YFC looks to the future, with the prospect of the lockdown easements over the summer, the federation hopes to be able to plan events to bring together members and rural community together at some of its competitions and social activities, taking into consideration, the latest covid guidance at the time
Whilst Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC) are gearing up for the slight ease in lockdown and hoping to re-start covid-secure face to face outdoor meetings later this month, the members are still organising fun evenings to bring together their current members and stay in touch. This week saw the turn of Ashley YFC who created “The Ashley YFC Mash Up” consisting of six fun rounds of activities – A Marble Race, Scavenger Hunt and Kahoot Quiz which included rounds entitled “Where am I in the World?”; A Picture round and a Sports round.
Jack Salt, Club Chairman of Ashley YFC, who currently have 34 active members, said “I really enjoyed hosting the Ashley YFC Mash up this week. Everyone had a good time testing their brainpower and their legs. It was great to catch up with members from across Staffordshire after the meeting and see how we are all getting on too.”
After twenty members got stuck in on the night, the winning team was the Poynton Family from Eccleshall, closely followed by Kate Mollatt of Uttoxeter and in third place was Emily Cartmail of Eccleshall.
Staffordshire YFC has members aged 10 – 26 years across ten clubs in Staffordshire and helps to keep young people in many rurally isolated areas connected and provides a much-needed social life. Club meeting nights usually run on a weekly basis, with a wide range of activities available for members of all ages including sports, public speaking, cinema and bowling trips, quizzes and farm walks. Although not all members are from an agricultural background, the clubs in Staffordshire are based in rural communities and provide new skills and learning opportunities, for any young people, with an interest in rural life and activities. The Covid 19 situation has meant that Staffordshire YFC has had to adapt the youthwork service it provides to its members and clubs to an online delivery.
As Staffordshire YFC looks to the future, with the prospect of the lockdown easements over the summer, the federation hopes to be able to plan events to bring together members and rural community together at some of its competitions and social activities, taking into consideration, the latest covid guidance at the time.
Despite Lockdown3.0, Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC) are still organising fun evenings to bring together their current members and stay in touch. To help the leaders of each club, the federation has joined forces, with each club taking a turn to host a “takeover” evening for everyone. Following the success of Chase YFC who took members around an IceCream Farm and Cheadle YFC who kept everyone fit with an online workout, it was the turn of Uttoxeter Young Farmers to host last week. The Club hosted a “Would I Lie to You” evening and saw over thirty members attending. It was held in keeping with format of the popular TV Show and hosted by Toby Hall, Club Chairman of Uttoxeter Young Farmers, who was sporting his favourite outrageous shirt which put a smile on everyone’s face. Toby’s fellow Club Officers, Kate Mollatt and Eddie Phillips both confessed to embarrassing truths from their past. The determined Kate took five attempts to pass her driving test and Eddie revealed that he once sank his teeth into another child in a ball pool – thankfully he was much younger and did say that it was by accident!
The next club to host an evening is Ashley Young Farmers Club who have a “Quick Fire Mash Up” night planned to bring current members of all ages together online. Ashley YFC have been very active throughout the pandemic with supporting their local community with shopping and prescription deliveries. They also raised over £1300 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and themselves as a registered charity, back in December with their “Covid-19 Day’s of Christmas” campaign which included a raffle, duck race and quiz.
Staffordshire YFC has members aged 10 – 26 years across ten clubs in Staffordshire. Club meeting nights usually run on a weekly basis, with a wide range of activities available for members of all ages including sports, public speaking, cinema and bowling trips, quizzes and farm walks. Although not all members are from an agricultural background, the clubs in Staffordshire are based in rural communities and provide the much needed social life, new skills and learning opportunities, for any young people, with an interest in rural life and activities. The Covid 19 situation has meant that Staffordshire YFC has had to adapt the youthwork service it provides to its members and clubs and so many are now embracing the new normal with zoom nights until restrictions ease.
As Staffordshire YFC looks to the future, the federation hopes to be able to plan events for later in the year, including competitions, the Annual Rally and also be involved in the Staffordshire County Show.
Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC) are continuing to rise to the challenge of operating during covid times and keeping their members connected. Following the announcement of Lockdown3.0 in January, members from the active clubs in Staffordshire have joined forces to hold county meeting nights, with each club taking a turn to host the event on zoom.
Members have joined in with Cheadle Young Farmers who hosted a full 30 minute body workout, which member Alice Naden led in January. This was followed by Chase Young Farmers who arranged for Daltons Ice Cream Farm, based in Wootton, to show members around their enterprise with a virtual tour and Q&A.
Staffordshire YFC County Chairlady, Amy Boothby said “The evening was a great success and very informative and interactive as well, which I appreciate can be difficult when holding events virtually. The hosts had managed to take short videos of themselves in action on the farm, from milking the cows to filling ice cream tubs, which we were all able to watch through Zoom and allowed us all to feel as though we were there in real life!”
Feedback from members was really positive, with the only downfall being that there was no tasting over zoom!
Uttoxeter Young Farmers are next to host a county zoom evening, on 17th February and will be organising a “Would I Lie to You” night for members to have some fun with.
Staffordshire YFC has members aged 10 – 26 years across ten clubs in Staffordshire. Club meeting nights usually run on a weekly basis, with a wide range of activities available for members of all ages including sports, public speaking, cinema and bowling trips, quizzes and farm walks. Although not all members are from an agricultural background, the clubs in Staffordshire are based in rural communities and provide the much needed social life, new skills and learning opportunities, for any young people, with an interest in rural life and activities. The Covid 19 situation has meant that Staffordshire YFC has had to adapt the youthwork service it provides to its members and clubs and so many are now embracing the new normal with zoom nights until restrictions ease.
As Staffordshire YFC looks to the future, the federation hopes to be able to plan some fundraising events and face to face competitions soon but, in the meantime, is continuing to support members and clubs in a virtual way using technology and social media.
On Saturday 5th December, Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC) held yet another first in their history since forming in 1952. With the cancellation and adaptation of many events and competitions from their usual format this Autumn, and no social events being able to go ahead, competitive members of Staffordshire YFC decided to get stuck into another rally, similar to the one held in May. This time, it was a Virtual Christmas Rally, with classes all themed around the festive season. The members of seven Staffordshire YFC clubs wanted to get ahead with these competitions, as all points gained now count towards the main Rally which it is hoped will run in May 2021. There were 14 Competitions Classes held, ranging from “Build a 3D Snowman from any materials” to “Club Christmas Song” which saw a range of musical talents coming together on video.
Judging took place via the Staffordshire YFC Facebook page, which has over 4500 followers. The number of “likes” for each entry was calculated along with an independent judge’s placings to give the overall result. The weekends virtual event attracted the support of seven sponsors, some of whom also helped with judging the classes. The sponsors were J A Bloor, South Staffs Water, LLM Vets, NVM Construction, Uttoxeter NFU, Agrovista and Frontier Agriculture Ltd.
There were over 160 entries from current members of all ages, encouraged by their Club Rally Secretaries, who got stuck into making and creating their entries and judges gave very positive feedback across all the classes. Hannah Fitzsimmons of LLM Vets judged the “Best Dressed Christmas Pet” class which saw an array of cats, dogs, horses and various farm animals entered. Hannah said ‘It has been an honour to judge this year’s Best Dressed Christmas Pet class. There were many brilliant entries, full of Christmas cheer; alongside some incredible training to keep some of the pets still in their costumes! Well done to everyone who entered, it really was a tough decision. I was very impressed by the creativity and effort of my first place.”
Amy Boothby, County Chairman of Staffordshire YFC said “Thank you so much to all our sponsors, judges and stewards for the support and help over the weekend, it has been a great showcase of YFC talent. I must extend a personal thank you to all the Club top tables and members who came on board this new idea, I have been blown away by the standard and number of entries we received!”
Once all the results were collated, the clubs were placed as follows for the Overall Virtual Christmas Rally 2020:
1st – Cheadle Young Farmers Club
2nd – Ashley Young Farmers Club
3rd – Uttoxeter Young Farmers Club
Staffordshire YFC has members aged 10 – 26 years across ten clubs in Staffordshire. Club meeting nights usually run on a weekly basis, with a wide range of activities available for members of all ages including sports, public speaking, cinema and bowling trips, quizzes and farm walks. Although not all members are from an agricultural background, the clubs in Staffordshire are based in rural communities and provide the much needed social life, new skills and learning opportunities, for any young people, with an interest in rural life and activities. The Covid 19 situation has meant that Staffordshire YFC has had to adapt the youthwork service it provides to its members and clubs and so many are now embracing the new normal, with weekly zoom meetings and COVID-19-secure activities.
As Staffordshire YFC looks ahead to 2021, the federation hopes to be able to plan some fundraising events and face to face competitions from the spring and in the meantime, is continuing to support members and clubs in a virtual way using technology and social media.
To view all the winning entries and results, please click here
Once all the results were collated, the clubs were placed as follows for the Overall Virtual Christmas Rally 2020:
1st – Cheadle Young Farmers Club
2nd – Ashley Young Farmers Club
3rd – Uttoxeter Young Farmers Club
To view the winning entries and all details of the results, please click here
On Sunday 29th November, Staffordshire YFC held the first set of competitions towards their popular Public Speaking Day Competitions. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the team competitions – Junior Reading, Junior Speaking, Intermediate Brainstrust and Senior Debating have been postponed until 7th February 2021. However, the Member of The Year (18 and Under/19 and Over) along side the Situations Vacant Competitions were held via zoom. The two days of competitions are being kindly sponsored by B and B Tractors, supporting YFC members to build confidence, team work and public speaking skills which will be invaluable later in life.
After a day of interviews, the results were as follows:
Member of the Year, 18 and Under:
1st – Molly Sammons, Eccleshall YFC; 2nd – Maisie Tinwell, Leek YFC; 3rd – Hollie Kelly, Chase YFC
Member of the Year, 19 and Over (Male):
1st – Toby Hall, Uttoxeter JNFU; 2nd – Phil Wilson, Uttoxeter JNFU
Member of the Year, 19 and Over (Female):
1st – Sarah Bourne, Cheadle YFC; 2nd Beckie Phillips, Uttoxeter JNFU; 3rd Alicia Bexon, Uttoxeter JNFU
Molly Sammons, Maisie Tinwell, Sarah Bourne and Toby Hall all qualify to go forward to the West Midlands Area rounds in Shropshire in March.
Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC), like so many other youth organisations, have had to adapt and change to the ongoing challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic. Despite Lockdown 2.0 and restrictions placed on clubs holding regular meetings for their members who are all aged 10 – 26 years, Staffordshire YFC is pleased to announce its new County Officer team have been elected for the coming year. Since March the Federation moved all its regular meetings onto zoom, with some combining together whilst there was little face to face activity and planning over the Summer. The County Staff who usually operate from the YFC Office based on the County Showground at Stafford moved to working from home and the organisation took to social media to keep members involved and active. Numerous competitions were held including a Virtual Rally and County Show plus Thursday evenings of entertainment became a favourite with members past and present, with their take on “Play Your Cards Right” and “Would I Lie to You” as well as fun family quizzes.
During the last 12 months, Amy Boothby, member of Uttoxeter Young Farmers has been waiting for her year in office to arrive. On Thursday, 12th November, she was elected as the County Chairlady to Staffordshire YFC at the County Executive Meeting, which was held via Zoom. Amy, who has been a member of YFC for over seven years, has always got stuck into all things YFC, including numerous Public Speaking Competitions and Sports as well as taking on leadership roles in her club including Club Secretary, Club Programme Secretary and Safeguarding Officer.
Will Freeman, retiring County Chairman, was congratulated during the Executive Meeting, for continuing to lead the federation during the pandemic despite the cancellation of so many face to face events and competitions. Newly elected Amy faces a challenge which no other County Chairlady has seen, as Covid 19 continues to hamper Staffordshire YFC’s usual programme of activities, which are very much reliant on face to face delivery. However, she is not deterred. Amy said “I’m so excited that the time has finally come for me to take on my role as County Chairlady! Although times are strange, I’m confident that as an organisation we will all pull together and see it through! During the upcoming year, I hope that we can begin to return to some form of normality and the usual opportunities and activities which YFC can offer. I am determined to make it a fun year ahead!”
Supporting Amy during her year in office, the county also elected their Vice Chairman as Toby Hall, Uttoxeter Young Farmers and Deputy Vice Chairman as Emily Cartmail of Eccleshall YFC.
Phil Wilson of Uttoxeter Young Farmers and Sam Fowell of Eccleshall Young Farmers were jointly elected as the Competitions Chairmen and Alicia Bexon of Uttoxeter Young Farmers and Beth Allen of Cheadle Young Farmers were elected as the joint Social and Funding Chairladies. The new Development Chairladies were also jointly elected as Beckie Phillips and Hannah Britland of Uttoxeter Young Farmers.
The County Officers Team lead the federations committees to plan and organise a programme of competitions, social events, learning and training opportunities during the year. Coming up at the end of November, the Federation has adapted three of its usual competitions to the virtual world. Member of the Year (19 and Over and 18 and Under) will be held via Zoom along with Situations Vacant, where members apply for a job of their choice, competitors had to submit a CV and covering letter prior to the competition and then participate in a ‘mock’ job interview. These competitions are kindly supported by B and B Tractors who will also be supporting the usual Public Speaking Day Competitions which will be held in February, all being well as a face to face delivery.
Due to the cancellation of the usual Christmas Tractor Run and Christmas Shopping Evening events held in December, the Federation has also added an extra Rally to its calendar, in virtual form. The very first Staffordshire YFC Virtual Christmas Rally, with 16 classes, will be held via social media on Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th December. Club members are already busy creating their entries into the classes which include, “Build a 3D Snowman” and “Club Christmas Song”. Points from the Christmas Rally will count towards the main Staffordshire YFC Rally which it is hoped will be held in May 2021.
The cancellation of activities during the last 9 months has resulted in a loss of funding for Staffordshire YFC, who are hoping to be able to hold fundraising activities in the Spring and Summer. In the meantime, the federation will be taking part in a National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC) Initiative, “Give it Some YFC Welly Relay” which will see Staffordshire YFC and its clubs pulling together to raise funds whilst covering the 140 miles which is the distance around the ten clubs. More details on how to get involved and how you can donate to Staffordshire YFC, a registered charity, will be published very shortly. In addition to this, a large fundraising Christmas Virtual Raffle is being planned, again via social media, to help with fundraising efforts for the charity.
To get involved in your local club, anyone aged between 10 – 26, is invited to contact the County office for details – email organiser@staffyoungfarmers.org.uk or call 01785 248645.
On Friday 6th November, Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (YFC) held their very first Virtual County AGM with County Chairman, William (Will) Freeman in the Chair, live from the YFC Centre headquarters, using Zoom. The AGM webinar was kindly supported by Pickering and Butters Solicitors, a firm of Staffordshire Solicitors who were founded over a century ago, with offices based in Stafford and Rugeley. The County AGM is usually attended by over 250 invited guests and members of the Federation and is the most prestigious meeting of the Staffordshire YFC year.
Despite the restrictions of Covid19, Will Freeman reported on his year as County Chairman, which highlighted his favourite memories and all YFC activities in Staffordshire during the challenging year. Will played a key role in organising the very first Christmas Tractor run, working with South Staffs Water, in December 2019, just at the start of his year as Chairman. The event raised over £3800 for charity and was hailed a great success with 85 tractors taking part. During the first five and a half months of the YFC year, which starts in September, Staffordshire YFC managed to hold 28 live competitions, with a further 8 being held during lockdown, including the very popular Virtual Rally and adaptation of the Stafford County Show, with the YFC Virtual County Show Week. The week in May coincided with what would have been show week and included an array of competitions including “Shoe Box Floats”, which showcased just how adaptable and creative Staffordshire YFC members can be. Will, a member of Chase Young Farmers said “With my year coming to an end and national lockdown part two just starting, the plans for our upcoming events have been changed again. I’m sure everyone can all agree that twelve months ago we would never have imagined how this year has gone. But I am so proud to report that in true YFC style Staffordshire’s members have adapted wherever possible and embraced the new normal. Staffordshire YFC shall continue to keep supporting our clubs and members through the coming months.”
It was reported during the meeting that Staffordshire YFC has 461 members aged 10 – 26 years, an expected reduction from the previous year, due to the pandemic which came at a time when many new members would join to actively take part in the Rally, County Show and summer social events.
The meeting did highlight the amazing community work of members across the YFC Clubs and awards were presented in respect of these achievements. Sarah Hope, Club Secretary 2019-20 of Ashley YFC, set up the Ashley YFC Community Volunteer Service. They worked alongside North Staffs Hospital, Loggerheads Pharmacy and Ashley Surgery to delivery prescriptions, do shopping, go dog walking and on some occasions and being a source of companionship over the phone, chatting to people who were shielding during lockdown. They carried out over 200 deliveries and had a great response from their members, who all wanted to get involved and help. Sarah and her fellow Club Officers had to coordinate the phone calls and ensure that all the requests were met and delivered. Staffordshire YFC recognised the wonderful efforts of Sarah during the meeting and awarded her the Senior Merit Award, which is presented to an outstanding member at Club or County Level.
The Junior Merit Award was also presented for outstanding efforts made by a young member of Eccleshall YFC. Molly Sammons, who has been a YFC member for three years, set up a Community Pop Up Shop in her own village of Derrington, to give the vulnerable and elderly residents of the village the independence to continue to do their own shopping during lockdown, whilst avoiding queues and larger supermarkets.
Uttoxeter JNFU were also recognised for their community efforts, as a club. The raised over £1100 for the Midlands Air Ambulance, through a fundraising raffle at their 90th Dinner Dance prior to lockdown, as well as a virtual Duck Race during lockdown. Members of the club also delivered supplies and gifts to five local care and nursing homes in the local area, bringing smiles to residents, as they were unable to see family visitors.
Also, during the meeting, Mr Philip Bourne was elected as County President for his second year. He has been very involved in Stone YFC as two of his daughters were both members of the club, serving on the Clubs Advisory Committee and as their Club President for a number of years.
Mr George Hawley was elected the Senior Deputy President, again for the second year. George is a former Staffs YFC County Chairman after time as a very active member of Cheadle YFC. In recent years he has been the President of Cheadle YFC following his very hands-on involvement in the reformation of the Club back in 2017.
The presentations of awards were announced by Will Freeman, after the formalities of the meeting were finished. The results were as follows, to the Clubs and Individuals:
Most Outstanding County Officer: Jointly awarded to Amy Boothby (County Vice Chairman) and Toby Hall (Deputy Vice County Chairman) for their outstanding efforts during C19 in keeping Staffs YFC enthused with virtual activities and plenty of positive social media.
David Palij Award: Awarded to the Club that has done the most for charity/community work during the last 12 months
Winner: Uttoxeter JNFU; Runner Up: Ashley YFC
Manifold Marketing Award: Awarded to the Club who best promotes their Club and engagement in Club, County & Community Events.
Winner: Eccleshall YFC, Runner-up: Uttoxeter JNFU
The Richard Mottershead Club Programme Award: Awarded to the Club gaining the highest number of points within the Club Efficiency Competition for the Club Programme section.
Winner: Chase YFC and Uttoxeter JNFU; Runner up: Cheadle YFC
Scrapbook Award: Awarded to the Club who produces the most interesting and unique scrapbook based on the activities of their own Club over the past membership year.
Winner: Ashley YFC, Runner Up: Uttoxeter JNFU
Most Improved Club – Competitions Cup: Awarded to the Club that has achieved the highest improvement in points for competitions from the previous year.
Winner: Cheadle YFC; Runner Up: Ashley YFC
Small Clubs Trophy: Awarded to one of the five smallest Clubs in the County with regard to membership, that has achieved the most points throughout the year for competitions.
Winner: Cheadle YFC; Runner Up: Chase YFC
Mr Ken Unwin MBE Memorial Cup: Awarded to the Club who most improves in Public Speaking, Stock Judging and Carcase Judging from the previous year.
Winner: Cheadle YFC; Runner Up: Lichfield YFC
Overall Competitions Cup: Presented to the club with the most points for the Competitions that have been held for the last 12 months:
Winner: Uttoxeter JNFU; Runner Up: Eccleshall YFC
Newsletter Shield: For the best contribution to the Young Farmers’ Book of the Year
Winner: Ashley YFC; Runner Up – Eccleshall YFC
The Late Mr & Mrs W.A. Taylor Senior Merit Award: Awarded to the most outstanding individual at Club or County level was presented Sarah Hope of Ashley YFC.
Junior Merit Award: This is presented to the most outstanding junior individual at Club or County level was presented to Molly Sammons of Eccleshall YFC.
Junior Stockjudging Cup: Winner: Lichfield YFC; Runner Up: Uttoxeter JNFU
Intermediate Stockjudging Cup: Winner: Uttoxeter JNFU; Runner Up: Cheadle YFC
Senior Stockjudging Cup: Winner: Uttoxeter JNFU; Runner Up: Waterhouses YFC
Overall Stockjudging Cup: Winner: Uttoxeter JNFU; Runner Up: Lichfield YFC
The final awards of the evening are the most prestigious to receive and are judged throughout the year as a “Club Efficiency” Competition, which encapsulates all aspects of a YFC Club. The aim of the competition is to encourage members and Club Officers to work together as an effective team for the benefit of all. Judges look for all aspects of how the clubs are run and hope to see good club administration and record keeping, strong leadership and governance and active promotion of the clubs through publicity and community engagement. They also want to see teamwork, ideas and enthusiasm from all club members. Also taken into account during this unusual year, was how Clubs adapted and embraced the challenges of the year. From this competition, the following awards were presented:
Most Outstanding Chairman: Runner-up: Catherine Johnson, Eccleshall YFC; Joint Winners: Sarah Bourne, Cheadle YFC and Phil Wilson of Uttoxeter JNFU
Most Outstanding Secretary: Runner-up: Sarah Hope, Ashley YFC; Winner: Alicia Bexon, Uttoxeter JNFU
Most Outstanding Treasurer: Runner-up: Nicole Brereton, Ashley YFC; Joint Winners: Kate Oakes, Chase YFC and Kat Clarkson of Cheadle YFC
Most Outstanding Club Leader: Runner-up: Jack Salt, Ashley YFC; Joint Winners: Emily Cartmail, Eccleshall YFC and Beckie Phillips, Uttoxeter JNFU
Overall Club Efficiency Shield: Runner up: Uttoxeter JNFU; Winners: Eccleshall YFC
As can be seen from the above, Staffordshire YFC is an organisation for any young people between the ages of 10 and 26 who would like to learn new skills, take up opportunities not available through mainstream education and to become part of their local community with like-minded young people. Despite the Covid19 pandemic, Staffordshire YFC has managed to hold many of their social events at the start of the year, organise 36 competitions as a mixture of “actual and virtual” and have increased their social media followings to over 4500 via Facebook. The new membership year has now started and 8 of the 10 Staffordshire clubs have held their Club AGM and re-elected Club Officers to lead their club for the coming year. All club officers have been given guidance on running in a COVID-19 secure manner to deliver their important youthwork activities, when lockdown restrictions ease and are continuing to adapt the service they are offering to their members. Looking to the future, Staffordshire YFC have also just launched their Virtual Christmas Rally, over the weekend of 5th – 6th December. There are 14 classes to be entered, including “Making a 3D Snowman from any materials” and a Club Christmas Song. They will also be adapting their County Competitions programme to virtual delivery and in some cases, rescheduling for the new year when it is hoped that face to face youth work can start to be delivered again.
For details on how to join your local club, please contact Julia Taylor, County Organiser on 01785 248645 or email organiser@staffsyoungfarmers.org.uk
