On Saturday 11th March, Staffordshire Young Farmers held their Annual Dinner Dance at the Ingestre Suite on the County Showground for over 400 YFC members, guests and supporters of the organisation. The Black Tie Dinner was themed as “The Black and White Affair” and the evening was based around old movies and film stars. The evening commenced with County Chairman, George Goodwin, recreating the iconic start of films by The Rank Organisation, as the federation’s very own “Gong Man!” George struck the gong at 8pm to signal that “dinner was served.”
Photographs in the foyer were taken against magnificent backdrop, designed and created by talented local member of Stone YFC, Phillippa Bourne. Then, following a four-course meal, members and guests danced to The Bulge Disco, enjoyed a flutter on the Casino and socialised with members past and present in true YFC style.
The Dinner Dance is one of the highlights of Staffordshire YFC’s busy social calendar and raises valuable funds to keep the federation running so successfully with almost 600 members aged 10 – 26 years of age.
Staffordshire YFC Stockjudging team take prizes at 2015 English Winter Fair!
Staffordshire YFC were victorious in the NFYFC Live and Carcase Judging Competitions at the 2015 English Winter Fair. The team of Katie James, Peter James, Aimee Smith and Will Leese took home the top prize.
In addition to the NFYFC Competition, the English Winter Fair YFC classes were also held as a one day competition on Sunday. This was organised by Staffordshire YFC and is kindly supported by The English Beef and Lamb Executive as well as the Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural Society. One of two Leicestershire teams went away with first place in this competition.
The weekend has been a great success with young farmers across the country coming together to compete in these important competitions which develops members skills in Stockjudging and public speaking.
Peter James takes 1st for Staffordshire…again!
Young Farmers’ Club members put their talents to the test in an enthralling NFYFC Farm Skills Weekend across Shropshire and Staffordshire. 24-year old Peter James from Leek YFC took home the coveted NFYFC Stockman of the Year award for the seconfd year running, a feat which has never been done before.
Staffordshire members get set to see the world!
YFC gives it’s members great opportunities to see the world, and yet again Staffordshire members have won places on trips all over the world.
Members pictured with Supermoo are Richard Mottershead, Karl Hockenhull, Lydia Allcock, Caroline Barlow, Amy Nicholls, Frances Wright, and Katie Pollock.
Princess Anne visited the YFC Centre
Young Farmers in Staffordshire celebrated the opening of their new headquarters 26 years ago with a Royal visit from the Princess Royal. Princess Anne returned to the Young Farmers’ office on Tuesday 26th July 2011 as part of a day to celebrate ‘Rural Activities in Staffordshire’. Some of those members involved 26 years ago were there to welcome Her Royal Highness, along with today’s Young Farmers who were keen to demonstrate the skills and activities, which ensure the organisation is sustainable as the rural youth movement of the countryside. The activities the members demonstrated to the Princess included traditional activities such as how to prepare an animal for showing; the art of sheep stock judging; butchery skills cookery skills. Other demonstrations included Tug of War, hedge laying and bricklaying. Other members read a specially written poem to demonstrate their Public Speaking Skills, sang for the Princess and prepared the posy for the Princess. The two youngest members in the Federation presented HRH with the posy and two Staffordshire YFC mugs.
Paul Worrall, County Chairman of Staffordshire YFC said, ‘We had hoped the Princess Royal would come last year to celebrate Staffordshire YFC Centre’s 25th Anniversary, but that was not possible. However, 26 years on it is good to celebrate our many achievements in the YFC movement. What was important to young people 25 years ago is still important today and the opportunity to participate in rural activities, with like-minded people, is as valuable today as it was then. We have lots of fun in Young Farmers, with an opportunity to learn and train, particularly through our Competitions Programme and the Federation’s Development Committee which organise a vast range of activities throughout the year. We had two members of the Staffordshire YFA (Young Farmers Ambassadors) Committee present, to explain about the fantastic opportunities that Young Farmers have to apply for trips abroad and travel the world with the NFYFC Discovery Programme.
There’s lots of photos on our Photo Gallery page
Easy Fundraising
Staffordshire YFC has enrolled onto a website called “Easy Fundraising” and can now benefit from anyone and everyone who shops online.
What do you need to do?
1. Click on the www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/staffordshirefarmers
2. Register yourself as a supporter of Staffordshire YFC
3. Every time you go online to shop ie at ebay, Amazon, Tesco, wherever, just go to that website via the easy fundraising website.
YFC can gain 2.5% from some retailers in commission from your shopping and this is at no cost to you – you pay the same price for your goods as you would normally when you shop online.
Please encourage parents, aunties, uncles, brothers, sisters – anyone really, to register and start shopping online this way.
Mobile Phone Recycling
Raise funds for the Federation by recycling your old phones – envelopes available from the County Office.
Young Farmers’ Clubs across England and Wales have pledged their support for a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) campaign to cut the high number of deaths each year from unnecessary farming accidents.
Working in agriculture remains one of the most dangerous ways to make a living. It accounts for around one in five work-related deaths every year, although only 1.5 per cent of the working population is employed in the sector. Across Great Britain, 38 workers lost their lives in farming-related incidents between January and November 2009 and figures for 2008/09 show that 589 people were seriously injured in farming accidents.
Nearly 15,000 farmers have already signed up to the campaign. And NFYFC Vice Chairman James Chapman, who lost his arm in an accident that could have also cost him his life, is calling on all 23,000 YFC members to make a New Year’s resolution to help cut the annual death toll by pledging to come home safe from the fields.
“The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs has proudly made the promise, to come home safe. Encouraging farmers to work safely has always been one of our key priorities and during 2010 we will be working closely with the HSE to promote the campaign in our clubs across the country.
“I know only too well what can happen when safety isn’t put first. I lost my left arm when it was caught in an unguarded PTO shaft. It happened because I, like many farmers, was working under pressure trying to get a job done as quickly as possible.
“Today I regularly speak to young farmers, using my experience positively as a warning of how important it is that they take the time to consider their safety and what can happen if they don’t,” said James.
Staffordshire Young Farmers were given the chance of a lifetime when it was announced that members would have a chance of meeting Her Majesty the Queen when she paid a visit to the County Showground on Friday 31st March as part of the Stafford 800 Celebrations. Her Majesty was due to join over 200 pensioners who were celebrating their 80th birthday in 2006, all from the Stafford Borough, for a Tea Party, as she too would be turning 80 on 21st April. It was decided at the County Development Meeting that these lucky individuals should be the County Organiser, County Chairman, County Vice Chairman and the winners of the Junior and Senior Member of the Year competitions. So Julia Taylor, Bryce MacKellar, Trevor Shelley, Reuben Moss, Vanessa Rowlinson and Toby Lawton got together to produce a display worthy of Royalty (well almost!!). With Bryce’s radical ideas, Vanessa tendency towards requiring perfection, Toby’s laminating skills and Julia’s baby bump taken into account this wasn’t going to be easy! We applied our collective ideas and produced a colourful display depicting the variation of our YFC activities.
On the big day we all met on the Saracens Head car park and piled into Julia’s car to be transported to the Showground. The security was definitely on full alert and Julia’s warning for no one to mention the word “bomb” even in a joke was taken into account by everyone including Bryce (Thank goodness!). We all had to be searched on entrance to the Showground and transported to the Ingestre Suite by coach. Everyone was in position at 11.00am ready for royal visit at 2:45pm (yes that’s right we were actually early!). Reuben’s concern that our fruit pastilles would not last the duration proved to be unfounded even when we discovered he had had twice as many as everyone else.
Eventually, the waiting paid off and despite being told that we may only get to meet The Duke of Edinburgh we were delighted when the Queen started to head our way. Her Majesty spoke to all of us, took an interest in our stand and commented on the silverware on display. The Duke of Edinburgh also took an interest in our activities. The Duke asked what our jobs were, asked Trevor what the state of farming was at the moment and enquired about the breed of Reuben’s cows! As the Royal party left the Showground by helicopter everyone agreed that it was definitely worth the wait. We were honoured to take part in this memorable occasion and it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
1st – Eccleshall B
2nd – Stone YFC/Waterhouses YFC
3rd – Ashley B
Highest scoring male – Josh Brereton (Ashley A)
Highest scoring female – Sarah Hope (Ashley B)
The following pupils should be congratulated for their amazing ambassadorial efforts.
Millie Coleman, Caitlyn Brown, Solomon Brookes, Ben Roberts, Jasmine Yeomans, Ben Broughton, Phoebe Broughton, Shannon Watmough, Harriet Beaton, Honor Halket & Annabelle lane.
Over last weekend they exhibited the schools sheep, having halter trained and cleaned them, in a variety of different competitions, often against farmers, and children of farmers for whom this type of showing is part of their business and something they do most weekends. This was a national competition and not once did they look out of place. Every judge and steward had nothing but praise for all of them.
After a particularly hard competition on Sunday, a businessman from Leicestershire was so impressed with the students efforts he approached the chief steward and put down the entrance and prize money to create a school specific category at the show. This is unheard of and is purely down to the efforts of our students. And off the back of this there will be schools categories at future Staffordshire shows. We won the school class.
In addition, I had several senior people from agriculture approach me over the weekend with offers of factory tours, talks and of developing other links with the school. These are people who I have known for years, in some cases, who are making these offers purely on the professionalism and attitude of our students.
Special praise should go to Ben and Phoebe Broughton who came 5th and 6th in their young handlers competitions, only being beaten by handlers who this type of competition is a way of life and to Annabelle Lane for coming 5th in the senior competition.
