Youth Forum Weekend

How it all started?

As Lincolnshire Young Farmers Youth Coordinator I went along to my first ever EMA meeting feeling extremely nervous as I had no idea what to expect. This is where our very own Vicki Kirk proposed me as EMA area's new Youth Forum Representative - feeling a little bit confused as to what I had to do I agreed to the role knowing it could only help me in my YFC career. I then got invited to a youth forum meeting in Edinburgh on the weekend of the 2nd- 4th February 2018. 

The weekend...

I went knowing that I would only know Laura Wrisdale so I was very worried about the weekend. However, by the end I did not want to leave. I made my way to Edinburgh by Train which was a 3 hour journey which seemed to take forever. When I arrived I was met by Jodie Green from NFYFC , with a whole group of people that had already arrived. There was people from all over the country, even the NFYFC Chairman.

Once we all arrived, we made our way to the Safe Stay Hostel where I shared a room with Laura and Lucy (Warwickshire YFC). We got ready and went for a lovely pub meal where we all got to know each other a bit more playing a game where we all had to write 2 facts down- one that people could easily guess and a harder one. This definitely gave us a better insight into peoples lives!! 

On the Saturday morning we had a short walk over to the Escape Rooms where we was all split down into different teams and had to work together to figure out how to escape from each of the different rooms. This was extremely difficult and mine was the only team that didn't manage to escape in the hour that was given. Then, we had a 40 minute drive to the next set of activities including quad biking and clay shooting! This had to be one of the best things of the whole weekend. I haven't ever really done quad biking or clay shooting but it was great to have the opportunity to do it. There was some people that had done it before so they was able to help us. 

On the Saturday evening, we had a 25 minute walk to the Pizza Express that we was eating at. This gave us chance to also have a little bit of a look round the city (which is absolutely beautiful). Over dinner we all had a really good chat getting to know each other even more. We found out what people had done at YFC, what roles that they have but also what they like to do outside of YFC! 

On the Sunday morning we all got prepared for what was going to be a long day of meetings and travelling back home. We had meetings from about 10am-1pm so very intense but very informative talking about competitions, what we want to do as the youth forum, what different counties/areas do to keep the juniors involved. It was so helpful for me as Youth Forum coordinator to get advice off of others as what to do for our juniors! I had a great weekend meeting new people and enjoying some different experiences. I would encourage anybody to try and get involved with something like this as it has really helped me!

By George Burrell, North Holland YFC

Lincs YFC Sports Competitions

Lincolnshire Young Farmers sports day at De Aston sports centre, Market Rasen, gave local clubs that chance to duke it out over some games.

Our first attempt at our sports day was thwarted by bad weather which made it difficult for our more far-flung friends to attend, however this time round there was no beating us. Rain or shine (and a little hail) we were going to play.

The competitions were: field hockey, ultimate Frisbee, jump rope, disco dancing, and dodgeball. All the teams showed a great amount of effort and enthusiasm while taking part in the games, well done to all!


The great thing about the sporting competitions, like many of the Young Farmer’s opportunities, was that it encouraged all abilities to get involved and have a go.Young farmers not only allows you to have fun but also use great talents or pick up a new skill.

The sports day was my first chance to have a real go at field hockey and despite my doubts, at the end of the games, I was reluctant to get off the pitch.

Ultimate Frisbee was a new game for many players, and an extra challenge was posed by the wind. The games that Louth took part in featured eventful occurrences such as one individual answering a call mid-air on the pitch, and myself throwing the Frisbee into someone’s garden. Big thanks to Tristan for climbing the fence and getting that back.
Choreographed jump rope gave competitors the chance to show off their skills and stamina to music, and for the lesser prepared among us, show how quickly we could think on our feet and make something up.

Young Farmers gives members the chance to show off all manner of skills and abilities, including disco dancing. I missed this competition but heard good things about those who chose to bust a move.

Great sportsmanship was shown by all clubs, from the players on the pitch, to the supporters on the side. A big thank you to everyone. The top teams will go on to represent Lincolnshire Young Farmers at EMA this March in Cleethorpes.

But it’s not about who wins or loses, it’s all about having fun and after all, at Young Farmers, everyone’s a winner…but actually:

Jump Rope: 1st Alford, 2nd Louth, 3rd Harmston A
Disco Dance: 1st Alford, 2nd Wragby, 3rd Harmston
Dodgeball: 1st Mixed team A (North Holland, Louth, Wragby) 2nd Mixed team B (North Holland, Market Rasen, Alford, Harmston, Wragby)
 
Ultimate Frisbee: 1st Alford, 2nd Market Rasen, 3rd Harmston
 
Hockey: 1st Wragby, 2nd Market Rasen, 3rd Louth.

Congrats!!!

By Lauren Thompson of Louth YFC

LOUTH YFC TAKE ME OUT

In the dull period between Christmas and New Year, Louth YFC had decided to brighten things up with a YFC edition of 'Take me out". With 18 stunning single ladies, 4 very keen gentleman and of course not forgetting Ed Hanson, our very own Paddy Mcguinness, it was definitely set to be a very entertaining and good night.

The night attracted huge crowds and was very successful in raising almost £2000 for Dementia UK. A huge well done to Louth YFC. Thanks to everyone who supported the event.

Fortunately, all 4 of our single lads managed to whisk away a lovely lady for a cute date. I have to say it was very well deserved after the huge amount of effort that was put into the videos, entertainment and generally making themselves look dapper for the evening. 

Here is what one of the fine gentleman had to say about the night:

"So the night had come to appear as a single lad on Louth YFC 'Take Me Out'. I was dressed in my best suit and wearing my best aftershave! I would be lying if I wasn't nervous (walking out into a crowd of 100+ people) but I was fairly calm. I was kept in the kitchen for about an hour to keep the whole thing a surprise and then got called up to walk down the love isle, my song choice for walking down the love isle was 'Are you going to be my girl' by Jet.
So the next thing I know, I was in front of everyone on the stage being interrogated by the single girls. They then watched a video about me (mostly about the Kia) which I had made for the event. Some lights went out and that was it. Then I did a bit of dancing, something I am fairly good at and also for everyone's entertainment. I then had 2 lights left on, and asked the girls 'What is your favourite holiday destination?' And then picked a date. While the raffle was being drawn, we had a date backstage (munching on the finest Walkers prawn cocktail crisps) and enjoying some Buck's Fizz and getting to know each other a little better. (Proper date still has to be arranged, sadly no Isle of Fernando’s) A very enjoyable night has had by all and not forgetting the amount Louth YFC made for Dementia UK. "
Shaun Underhill

Pub Quiz Competition!

On Sunday 29th October at 7pm members of Lincolnshire Young Farmers descended on Wragby town hall for the annual pub quiz, this year saw record numbers with 32 teams entering. Wragby Young Farmers organised this years event at got local quiz master Keith Blakey to do the quiz, there were 8 rounds of 10 questions with everything from general knowledge to the picture round. The quiz certainly got heads scratching, out of 160 points the winning team from Alford YFC got 108, followed closely by Wragby YFC with 105. The Alford YFC team was preparing for this competition well in advanced by attending the Skendlby pub quiz on a regular weekly basis!

All the members were very thankful of the lovely ladies that brought refreshments (Beers, chocolates and crisps) around during the quiz. It was definitely an important part in helping everyone get through the evening! Well done to all the members that competed from the juniors to the seniors. It was great to see 130 people all in one town hall competing in this quiz.

By Alex Olivant (Wragby YFC)

First County competition of the YFC year - Mock Auction !!!

After the long YFC break over the summer, what better way to start the county calendar than with the Mock Auction? This is a fantastic competition which brings out every clubs competitive edge to use their machinery knowledge to be crowned champions. The participation for this competition was excellent with a total of 16 teams taking part. There was a huge variation in ages and genders that competed. It was great to see such a good turnout for the first competition of the YFC year! 
There are two aspects to the competition. First of all the teams must write a valuation for each lot, getting as close to the auctioneers valuation as possible! This is then followed by the auction of the lots, ideally not purchasing anything for more than the auctioneer has valued it at! There was a lot of items that people bought at a value very close to the value. However, there was also a few lots which people paid a lot more for then it was valued at. At the end the scores were totalled up to find an individual and team winner! 
After lots of careful valuing and bidding, a clear winner was found in the team event. This was Horncastle YFC, closely followed by Spilsby YFC. Taking away the trophy for the best individual score of the day was Phoebe Wells. The Wray siblings, (Ben and Beth), were the runners up individually!This year’s mock auction was kindly hosted by Louth Potato Company and organised by Alford Young Farmers. A fabulous day was had by all, developing member’s skills that many will need in the future, when going out to purchase items in farm sales and auctions. A big congratulations to all winners and everyone who took part!

By George Denby (Alford YFC)

NFYFC Cookery Final

At this year’s Lincolnshire YFC County Rally, myself, Rosie and Flo made up the team for Louth’s entry in the Cookery competition. The theme for this year’s Cookery was “Around the World”, and we were given a list of various countries visited under the National YFC Travel program which we could choose to interpret.  For anyone who doesn’t know, you are asked to prepare a 3 course meal in one hour, using only two gas camping stoves. No cooker, no fridge and no power supply. This makes choosing a menu extremely difficult!

A group decision led to us choosing “Africa”; as we felt this was a more challenging country to try and represent and would hopefully make us stand out to the judges.  Having done the cookery competition several times, I had a good understanding of the rules and what was expected of us. However, Rosie and Flo took charge and planned the entire menu, equipment and display; only coming to me for reassurance and to check they had done it right. I felt a bit of a spare part, but proud that my experience had been passed onto the younger members meaning that it no longer all fell on me to plan and organise.

On the day we all worked as a team to help chop, cook and display our menu – and to our delight we were crowned the winners giving us automatic entry to the National Finals. We decided there and then we were going to go on to represent Louth and Lincolnshire at a national level, as we may never get the opportunity to do so again. Our menu was Mfino Fritters, South African curry and Labneh (yoghurt and berries).  The judges had advised the berries were not quite right for Africa and we should try citrus fruits, so we took their criticism on board and changed the dessert to a South African Marshmallow Dessert which included citrus fruits.

The competition finals took place at the Malvern Autumn Show in Worcestershire on Saturday 23^rd September. We travelled separately; mainly because we had to take so much stuff it wouldn’t fit in one car! We set off at 7.00am at it was a 3.5 hr drive and we wanted to get there in good time so we knew where we had to be. Well… it was a good job we left in good time.  The traffic on the outskirts of Worcester was backed up and slow moving; causing Flo’s car to overheat and it had to be left on a roundabout to be rescued post-competition!

After shifting all of the bags into my car we set off again, arriving with only 10 minutes to spare before we had to book in.  We were laden down with pots, pans, chopping boards, display boards and ingredients, pushing our way through the crowds trying to find the “Severn Hall”.  The other counties who had clearly been there before wheeled in their trollies looking very calm, whilst we were there sweating and panting, having a pit-stop every ten metres! Eventually we made it, set up our display and unpacked all of the equipment.

We were the second group to cook and looking around; the standard was incredibly high. We told ourselves we wouldn’t let it phase us, and we didn’t. The judges were professional chefs who constantly walked round the room, watching us cook. The pressure was intense, particularly as the public surrounded us too. But we stuck to our plan, we knew what we needed to do as we had done it before. We worked together, helping each other out when something threatened to burn or fall apart. The hour zoomed by and time was up; we had to stop cooking and pack everything away for judging. We were happy with the overall display and it was now a case of waiting.

Later on in the day, we returned for the presentations. The judges praised everyone for travelling there from all over the country to compete and for the skills that are shown despite having such basic cooking equipment. They began to read out the results, we realised we perhaps weren’t going to be winners this time. Overall, we came 33^rd place out of 37 teams, which naturally we were disappointed with but we feel we did our very best and are all proud to say we went and represented our county at a national competition.

We would recommend all clubs who qualify for area or national rounds to pluck up the courage and have a go – the standard will be high but you are the best of the best! You will learn tips on how to improve for next time, have a good time and have a good story to tell at the end of it all.  Once we arrived home after a very tiring day, we can now say it was worth the stress and maybe we can have another go next year! If we do, we are definitely taking a trolley, that’s for sure.

By Holly Howell, Chairman of Louth YFC

Big changes for LINCS YFC marketing!!

Hello everyone and welcome to our new blog. 

A lot of changes have been going on recently for Lincolnshire Young Farmers in terms of our marketing. One thing that has happened is that we have now got this Blog site. In the modern world then blogging is a huge thing and we felt as a marketing team that having our own Blog would be a great idea. The purpose of the Blog is to keep members, advisory, friends and potential new members up to date with what is going on in the Lincolnshire YFC world! We are going to be doing regular posts about exciting county, club and also national news. We hope that you can all get behind the Blog as much as possible and that you find it a great bedtime or coffee break read!

Social media is also a massive thing for any organisation. Therefore, Lincs YFC has now gone all out to try and keep up with the modern world. We are now proud to announce that we have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and also Snapchat site. By following all of these you will regularly see the fun, learning and achievement that is going on in Lincs YFC! You can find us @LincsYFC on all of these sites!! If you have any suggestions on what to put on our social media pages then let us know as that we can keep it as entertaining, fun and engaging as possible!

So already you can see that there has been some great changes in the way that Lincs YFC is now marketed. However, the biggest change for us is that we have recently got a new website!!! YAYYYY !!!! As I am sure many of you will know, our old website was VERY out-dated. An upgrade of the Lincs YFC website was well due and we have finally got there. It has to be said that it was far from easy, with a lot of debating, discussion and deciding needed before we got anywhere near our final site, however, we have finally got there! We now have a very modern, very user friendly and very wicked Lincolnshire Young Farmer website! It contains a great amount of information for new members, existing members and also anyone just wanting to find out more information. Everyone from the marketing team at Lincs YFC is very excited about this new launch after all of the hard work that has gone into it!

We hope that all of these changes that we have already made will be a great credit to Lincs YFC. We need to appear modern and funky to keep attracting the new members and looking after our existing members. This is very important to us with us all aiming for 1000 members by 2020. Therefore we hope that the changes we have made are going to help us reach our goal!!!  So that sums up our first Blog. We hope you enjoyed the read and remember watch this space to keep updated with LINCS YFC LIFE!!!!

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