2019-06-19 |
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Agricultural and Rural Skills Celebrated at National Competition
Young people aged 10 to 26 have been developing key agricultural and rural skills so they can compete in The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs’ (NFYFC) competition finals on 6 July at Staffordshire County Showground.
The event, which will involve more than 500 finalists competing in 13 different competitions, is one of the highlights of the year for members of Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFCs).
A new auctioneering competition, sponsored by SAI Global, has been added to the competitions programme this year where finalists will be asked to value and auction three items. The competition will be run like a standard auction with members of the audience able to ‘bid’ on the items.
Competing teams have been practising for this competition at County and Area rounds before winning their place in the national final. SAI Global will be joining the competing teams at the Showground and will also help to judge the competition.
Robin Levin, Head of Agriculture from SAI Global, said:
“As a leading global whole farm assurance provider, SAI Global is delighted to be able to offer our support for the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs’ Auctioneering competition.
“All Young Farmers have the unique opportunity of learning a range of important skills to apply to many different situations, none more important than understanding one of the great, farming, transactional experiences and institutions – that of auctioneering.”
NFYFC is also running a Farm Skills competition aimed at improving YFC members’ agricultural proficiencies and farm safety awareness. Most of the equipment provided for the Farm Skills competition is being generously provided by B&B Tractors in Staffordshire with kit from Honda, KUHN and Massey Ferguson being used.
As well as first aid tasks and challenges involving a road vehicle and livestock trailer, competitors will also be asked to work with an ATV to hitch and lead a trailer.
The Farm Safety Foundation’s Yellow Wellies campaign will also be supporting a hazard perception section of the competition where teams will be asked to highlight safety issues when working at height and with machinery and power cables.
Anyone attending Competitions Day, who is over 16 years old, will this year be able to put their ATV skills to the test thanks to Honda who has organised for the European All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute (EASI) to join NFYFC at the Showground.
EASI will be running an ATV skills test and participants will be in with a chance of winning a pair of VIP hospitality tickets to a choice of British Superbike or British Touring Car Championship race days for one of the remaining races in the 2019 calendar.
Participants in the EASI skills test (which is not one of the official NFYFC competitions so anyone can take part as long as they meet certain criteria*) will need to complete safety tasks and checks before riding an ATV as well as hitching, weaving and reversing an ATV with and without a trailer.
Steve Morris, Head of Power Products for Honda (UK) comments:
“As a partner of the NFYFC we’re delighted to be supporting one of the biggest events in their calendar. Learning new skills is not just important to young people’s development but also their safety around the workplace.”
YFC members will also compete in a Fence Erecting competition, supported by ArcelorMittal Estate Wire, and a Clay Pigeon Shooting competition, sponsored by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC).
This will be the second year that BASC has supported the Clay Pigeon Shooting competition and this year they will be bringing a shooting simulator for non-competitors to try shooting sports during the day.
The Clay Pigeon Shooting competitions is held at Oakridge Shooting ground in Staffordshire and winners will receive a BASC goody bag and The Game Fair tickets – with the overall highest scoring winner also receiving a subscription to Field Sports magazine.
Hannah Davies, from BASC, said:
“We are looking forward to supporting this event and helping to promote firearms safety through our sponsorship of the clay pigeon shooting competition.
"Shooting and conservation go hand-in-hand and it is great to be sharing those positive messages with the next generation of farmers. May we take this opportunity to wish all of this year’s finalists a fantastic day.”
As well as the more traditional agricultural competitions, YFC members will also be competing in a range of public speaking competitions and a Cube Exhibit created to the theme of Children’s Television.
During the afternoon, spectators at the event will get to enjoy NFYFC’s Ballroom Dancing and Show Choir competitions. Teams from across the country will perform to impress professional judges.
Ballroom dancing competitors must perform a routine that could open a dancing show, such as Strictly Come Dancing.
NFYFC’s Competitions Chairman Dewi Parry, from Clwyd FYFC, said:
“This year’s Competitions Day is set to be a spectacular showcase of the amazing talent that we have in YFC. Young rural people from across England and Wales, aged from 10 to 26, will be demonstrating their skills in a wide variety of tasks and showing that YFC is an organisation that teaches skills for life.
“A huge thank you to our sponsors who are supporting this event and are helping to ensure the development of key skills for the next generation of farmers.”
NFYFC’s Sports Day will be on Sunday 7 July and 300 competitors will take part in rounders, rugby and netball competitions at Stafford Grammar School in Staffordshire.
