Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFCs) raised an estimated £5.75 million for charitable causes in the last membership year, and their achievements were recognised at this year’s Annual Meeting of Clubs (AMC).
YFCs are asked to submit their fundraising totals every year, and the club and county that raised the most money for charity per member are each rewarded with a trophy at the AMC.
While not all clubs and counties submit their fundraising totals, the average raised by the clubs that did share their information was £261.47 per member, resulting in an estimated £5.75m if NFYFC were in receipt of all the fundraising totals.
NFYFC President John Lee OBE DL, who was re-elected during the meeting, praised the efforts of clubs and encouraged them to also consider fundraising for their county federations and NFYFC, which are charities in need of funds as well.
This year, Suffolk County Federation was presented with the Prince of Wales Trophy for being the county that raised the most funds per member. Suffolk’s 268 members raised a total of £5,059 for charity during the 2024-25 membership year, which equated to £18.88 raised per member.
Rosie Walters collected the trophy on behalf of the county and credited their Christmas tractor run with raising the most money.
“Members from all over the county, non-members and family all come together for our tractor run. We go through lots of major towns and villages and people line the streets from all over, so it’s brilliant.
“It’s not just a social event for Young Farmers, it’s a big community event to connect with other people who are not connected to Young Farmers and to bring the clubs together,” explained Rosie.
“We are quite a small county compared to others and so this is an amazing achievement for us to win the trophy. Everyone will be very proud.”
The Lionel J Hill MBE NFYFC Charity Cup was presented to Drigg YFC in Cumbria for raising an impressive £74,500 between their 57 members, which equated to £1,307.02 raised per member.
The club raised the money for the Great North Air Ambulance with a Welly the Heli campaign, which involved pushing a ‘helicopter’ – made from an old car – 77 miles from Drigg to Langwathby.
Rosie Pratt, the club’s Welly the Heli Chair, collected the trophy on behalf of Drigg.
“We didn’t expect to make the money we raised,” said Rosie. “We started off with a target of £10,000 and we absolutely smashed it and it’s unbelievable how much we ended up raising.
“We wanted to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance as they have done so much for families in and around our community.”
Since the fundraiser the club has gained a lot of publicity and Rosie says it also helped with members’ mental health as they were training together and meeting new people.
The Drigg YFC logo has recently been included on the Pride of Cumbria helicopter for the Great North Air Ambulance, and the club have been nominated for local awards as well.
Drigg have continued fundraising for the campaign into this membership year and have now raised more than £100,000 for the charity.
Harmston YFC in Lincolnshire was recognised by the Addington Fund for being the YFC to raise the most money for Forage Aid during the 2024-25 membership year.
The club held a Christmas tractor run with 51 decorated tractors and lorries, which raised £3,818.72 for the charity.
As well as celebrating the generosity of clubs and counties, silverware was also presented to clubs in recognition of their success in competitions.
The NFU Trophy was presented to Bedfordshire for scoring the most points in competitions across the previous membership year.
Bedfordshire County Chair Oliver Garnham accepted the trophy on behalf of the county and said that public speaking competitions played a big part in their success.
“We have great public speakers throughout Bedfordshire, and we have great mentors that encourage people to get involved,” said Oliver, who recently helped take a group of members to a Young Farmers' debate in Parliament, where they impressed with their public speaking skills.
“We had 80 people competing in the Public Speaking competitions, and we only have 430 members in the county, so to get a quarter involved is a great achievement,” added Oliver.
Devon County Federation were the second highest scoring county in competitions during the 2024-25 membership year and won the Tug Wilson Trophy. County Chair Anneliese Retallick said engagement in YFC competitions was encouraged by club chairs and secretaries, with wider events and activities helping to reinforce the benefits.
“I think there’s such a wide range of YFC competitions that there’s a competition for everyone. Whether it’s flower arranging or Tug of War or Public Speaking or Debating they just offer so much to our members, there are so many skills that can be gained.”
As one of the smallest counties in the Federation who scored the most points in Competitions, Berkshire County Federation’s achievements was also recognised with a trophy from the Worshipful Company of Farmers. County Chair Katie Goodman said members were encouraged to have a go through training and promotion of the competitions programme.
“We do a lot of Stockjudging practice because it’s the most nerve wracking for people. It’s not the easiest competition but members have found the more you do it, the easier it gets. We do lots of Public Speaking and Reading practice too.
“Competitions give so much confidence in everyday life and hopefully the confidence and expertise to move on through the ranks in club but also county and perhaps even Area.”
Other trophies presented included the Merrick Burrell Tankard for the Isle of Man Federation of YFCs for being the County Federation with the largest percentage increase in membership over the past three years. The county had increased its membership by an impressive 52.7%.
The Top Trainers Award was awarded to William Maydwell from Leicestershire and Rutland YFC for delivering training to the highest percentage of its membership and in recognition of excellence in the delivery of training.
Harriet Gregory from Derbyshire won the Young Farmers Ambassadors Award for the best YFC Travel presentation that she created from her volunteering trip to Sri Lanka in 2025.
The Young Farmers Ambassadors also presented NFYFC with a cheque for £2,000 to support the 2026 YFC Travel programme.
At the end of the meeting, William Grovestock from Hertfordshire was announced as the winner of the Sydney Fawcett Trophy for making the most outstanding contribution to the democratic proceedings of the meeting.
William said he was “shocked” to hear he had won the trophy for his speech defending the NFYFC Council proposal, as he hadn’t been overly prepared to speak.
“The whole debate was an amazing experience to be in as a young person and to have control over what we are doing as an organisation. You are voicing your point of view for your members that you are representing at a county level,” said William about his experience.
“I was very scared but it’s a welcoming warm room and a great place to express how your county is represented.”
