Staffordshire County Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (SCFYFC) celebrated in style on Saturday 7th October in The Ingestre Suite on the County Showground in Stafford as over 475 invited guests, members and supporters of SCFYFC came together to see The Presentation of The Queens Award for Voluntary Service (The MBE for Volunteer Groups.) This prestigious award was presented on the evening by HM Lord Lieutenant, Mr Ian Dudson CBE KStJ, who in attendance with his wife, Mrs Jane Dudson, enjoyed an evening of entertainment from past and current YFC members as they put on a show entitled “What has Staffordshire YFC ever done for us?”
The entertainment en-capsulated exactly what opportunities and activities Staffordshire YFC has and does on a regular basis. From Competitions, the County Show, the Annual Rally, YFC Travel Programme, Training, Meetings to the endless Social Events for members to get involved in. The cast produced a remix of “500 miles” by The Proclaimers, various comedy sketches, past and current YFC Travellers explaining just how far around the world they had all been and a practical Live Stockjudging Lesson including a surprise demonstration on a heifer, which was halter-led into the Ingestre Suite (closely followed by a bucket and shovel!) Guests were wowed by the array of scenes which led flawlessly from one aspect of YFC to another, with plenty of laughter and smiles along the way.
Following the entertainment, it was time for Mr Ian Dudson to present the award. He explained that since the award was first given in 2002, following The Queens Golden Jubilee, Staffordshire as a county has received over 70 of the awards, reflecting the hard work and quantity of volunteering that takes place in the area. He then congratulated Staffordshire YFC on winning the award and went onto thank the members for the entertainment which showed a great array of talents worthy of a separate award and that the sketches gave all guests a really great insight into what Staffordshire YFC is all about.
Collecting the award on behalf of Staffordshire YFC were Peter Cotton of Waterhouses YFC who came 1st in both Staffordshire and West Midlands Area YFC Member of the Year Competition (17 years and under) in 2017 and Beth Robinson of Lichfield YFC who was the Runner Up of the same competition in Staffordshire. Mr Dudson then presented a representative from each of the eleven YFC Clubs in Staffordshire with a Certificate of Appreciation, acknowledging the hard work and commitment of their members and supporters, which has contributed towards The Queens Award.
As a surprise on the evening, Staffordshire YFC also paid special tribute to its five County Trustees, Mr Jon Sarsfield, Mr David Beswick, Miss Margaret Bennett, Mr David Heminsley and Mrs Ange Woodward. The County Chairman, Mr George Goodwin outlined the hard work that each County Trustee had given over the years to the county federation and explained that this, combined with endless enthusiasm has led to this recognition. He said “Our five trustees don’t just fulfil a list of jobs and positions that we could “tick off”. They do so much more than that. They go the extra mile, and then an extra ten on top of that. They have enthusiasm for all things “Staffordshire YFC”. They don’t just give time; they give it some welly, like no other!” Each County Trustee was presented with a Queens Award Pin Badge by Mr Dudson.
The evening was concluded with a magnificent hot buffet provided by Pear Tree Catering and plenty of socialising as members past and present, along with all guests enjoyed the great atmosphere created by such a wonderful evening. Katie James, longstanding member and Club Leader of Leek YFC said “I don’t think anyone left the showground on Saturday night without having a proud sense of belonging to Staffordshire YFC” which summarised the whole event perfectly.
Stone YFC have elected a new top table for 2017-18. Edward Johnson & David Benbow are chairman for the year, Rebecca Roe as secretary and Phillippa Bourne as treasurer. They already have lots of events planned with a Dinner Dance on 3rd November 2017 and a Christmas Cracker Ball on 22nd December 2017.
Lichfield YFC have a new top table for 2017-18. Harri Dunne has been elected as Chairman, Eden Gray as Secretary and Jacob Sweetman-Wiley as Treasurer. They have lots planned for Lichfield YFC so pop down to Sheepwash Farm on a Monday night to find out more!
Leek YFC have a new top table for 2017-18. Andrew Hill has been elected as Chairman, Beth Hicklin as Secretary and Meg Barnes as Treasurer. They have lots planned for Leek YFC so pop down to Leek Hockey Club on a Wednesday night to find out more!
Stone YFC are starting the new membership year with a fun packed Club Programme!
Want to broaden your horizons? Interested in the future of the Farming Industry? Do you care what happens to the next generation in the agricultural sector?
Why not apply for an all expenses paid trip to the Oxford Farming Conference…which is being held on 3rd – 5th January 2018, kindly sponsored by The Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural for members of Staffordshire YFC?
The Oxford Farming conference is a fabulous opportunity to get involved within the future of agriculture, with topical discussions, talks and presentations mixed with socializing and meeting some top people within the industry, all within the spectacular grounds of Oxford University, it really is an opportunity not to be missed!
How to apply? Click here
For more information about the conference head to the website https://www.ofc.org.uk/
Deadline for applications has been extended to 9am on Wednesday 1st November!
Ridware YFC are holding an evening on Wednesday 1st October to recruit some new members and expand the leading committee to take the club into 2017/18.
Come along to find out more about being a part of the largest rural youth organisation in Staffordshire!
Dont miss out on your chance to nominate a deserving member for the Junior & Senior Merit Awards. The results are announced at the County AGM on Friday 10th November 2017.
Click here to find the nomination form Click Here
All nominations need to be in by Monday 2nd October 2017.
All Clubs are invited to enter a Scrapbook into the Annual Competition which is judged after Thursday 5th October when all books are due to be submitted. The Scrapbook Award is presented at the Annual General Meeting which is being held on Friday 10th November, 7pm at The Ingestre Suite, County Showground, Stafford.
For the Rules and Details of how your Club’s Scrapbook could take Staffordshire’s top spot for 2016/17, have a read below.
The cream of Staffordshire’s top stock judging members took on teams from around the West Midlands Area of YFC’s (WMA) on Sunday 23rd July at the WMA Stockman/Young Stockjudge of the Year competitions, hosted by The Lawton Family at Weston Jones, just outside Newport. Competitors judged four rings of stock (4 Dairy Cows, 4 Butchers Cattle, 4 Commercial Breeding Ewes, 4 Butchers Lambs) and then gave Reasons on all four rings of stock. They also completed an Animal Health and Husbandry Questionnaire. After a great competition with over 60 YFC members taking part, Staffordshire members took the following placings:
Young Stockman of the Year – 1st, Daniel Weaver of Stone YFC, 2nd, Elizabeth James of Leek YFC and in 3rd, Will Leese of Eccleshall YFC.
Stockman of the Year – 2nd, Peter James of Leek YFC
In the team awards, the Staffordshire team made up of Jake Manning (Lichfield YFC), Katie James (Leek YFC), Sally Leese (Eccleshall YFC) and Peter James (Leek YFC) took the 2nd place for the overall team.
Daniel, Elizabeth and Peter will now go forward to compete at the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs Farm Skills Day and hope to bring home some silverware again to Staffordshire, following in the footsteps of Rob Mollatt of Uttoxeter JNFU last year who won the competition overall.
Stockjudging is one of the many competitions that are on offer to anyone who would like to become a member of the country’s largest rural youth organisation. There is a myth that it is “just for farmers” which is completely untrue, members come from a variety of backgrounds and many don’t even own a pair of wellies! Each of the ten clubs across the county hold a unique and varied programme of weekly events and the social life available to anyone aged 10 – 26 years of age is amazing.
