Shropshire Farming Talk: A busy run-in to the end of my time as chairman

But in true YFC style, there is still loads to pack in.

The last few months started with my Chairman’s Challenge, to which I pushed a bed the length of the county.

It took some 53-and-a-half miles in total from Whitchurch church, where we were kindly set on our way by Pippa the priest who conducted my young farmers' carol service earlier in my year as chairman.

Along the route, I was joined by almost all the clubs as we aimed to take the straightest route from top to bottom of the county whilst passing through the centre of Shrewsbury.

With the bed having an overnight stop at a friendly farmer’s shed just south of Shrewsbury, I made my way on the Saturday evening, stiff as a brick after walking 28 miles to my local club's foam party.

With a few hours of socialising under my belt, I headed home ready for the final 25 miles through the hillier south of Shropshire before arriving late afternoon at Ludlow Castle accompanied by loads of members of Ludlow YFC and my own club Brown Clee.

The challenge was great fun meeting with members from the clubs along the way, raising the public's awareness of the great work young farmers do and adding £2500 to the charity pot.

Next up we had the first ever SFYFC Sheep Dog Trials kindly hosted by the Pugh Family at Shelve.

We had a fantastic turn out of novice sheepdog owners, who were all having their first go at sheepdog trailing, myself included.

We had mixed abilities of talent shown on the day but with plenty of spectators it's always a challenge getting a dog to think exactly how you want it to.

Later in the day, we had the human sheepdog trails without a dog this time, which was greatly entertaining, the sheep had thee upper hand this time!

The annual county rally was held at Kinlet, near Cleobury Mortimer, too as well as members competing at the NFYFC finals at Stafford.

The Rally is another special day for our members where we turn a few farm sheds into a fully decorated venue, with a stage built for performances, a bar for refreshments and a field for active competitions.

The team worked exceptionally hard, carting all sorts of items we needed from all over to the venue to get it ready for the helpers to create a wonderful venue in anticipation.

The Chairman's Ball preparations are now quietly ticking along in the background with all the planning coming into place for a big black tie dance over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

If you are interested in joining your local young farmers' club or want more information visit sfyfc.co.uk.