Young farmers competitions day at Caithness Livestock Centre in Quoybrae
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The Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) north region held a special Agri Competitions Day at the Caithness Livestock Centre in Quoybrae last Saturday (October 1).
The day saw competitors take part in beef cattle dressing, prime lamb dressing and agri skills competitions.
Five teams competed in the beef cattle dressing competition, which was judged by Graeme Henderson, Murrayfield, and Gordon Begg, Vauldale, with cattle supplied by Andrew Swanson, Quarryside.
The winning senior team was West Aberdeenshire A, Hannah Lorimer (Echt) and Craig Coutts (Vale of Alford) with 88 points out of a possible 100. Second place went to West Aberdeenshire B with Ellen Glennie (Vale of Alford) and Callum Simpson (Garioch) scoring 86 points and third equal went to Bower A, Beth Douglas and William Campbell and Bower B, Neil Campbell and Alexander Younger with 73 points. The first junior placing went to Lauren Oag and Abbie Gunn of Bower Young Farmers with a score of 90 points.
There were 10 teams competing in the prime lamb dressing competition, which was judged by Ron Mackay, Clyth, with lambs kindly supplied by James Polson, Lower Thura.
The winning team in the senior section, making it a double win for their day, was West Aberdeenshire’s Hannah Lorimer and Craig Coutts with 81 out of a possible 100. Second place went to Orkney District members Marcus Scholes and Ewan Flett both from East Mainland Young Farmers with 79 points, and third equal went to Sally Glennie (Vale of Alford) and Callum Simpson (Garioch) from West Aberdeenshire and Bower B, John Forbes and Erin McGuire with 63 points. In the junior section, first place went to Forss members, Bethany Swanson and James Swanson with 72 points.
Other competing teams were also from Bower and Forss clubs.
The Agri Skills competition saw seven teams compete in tasks that demonstrate their skill and knowledge of agriculture. Teams took part in ATV handling; lamb grading; first aid challenge; disease identification and a farm management quiz. Bower Young Farmers swept the boards with Bower D, Lauren Oag, William Campbell and Jac Murray placed first and Bower A, Beth Douglas, James Gunn and John Forbes second followed by Bower B, William Ronaldson, Alexander Younger and Neil Campbell in third. Other competing teams were from Forss and West Aberdeenshire.
North chairmperson Sarah Mowat said: “A great day was had by all who attended and it was good to see so many teams from around the region taking part in the competitions.”
