ENCOURAGING new and existing members, producing leading concert and Talent Spot performances, organising training courses and a general ‘can do’ attitude are just a few of the reasons Andrew McGregor was crowned Member of the Year at the National competitions weekend in February. 

The 23-year-old has been an active member in all aspects of the organisation since he joined back in 2006, and is currently chairman of his local Carluke YFC as well as a member of the National council, where he is actively involved in the continual effort to improve the association as a whole. 

He is a graduate of SRUC Edinburgh and can now be found working at home at East Law Farm – a mixed unit running 150 milking Holsteins and 330 ewes as well as an arable operation growing winter wheat. 

In his year as chairman of Carluke he was keen to build on the strong foundations of the club so set three main objectives for the year – attract 30 new members, increase donations to charity and increase the club’s profile in the local area. Helping him achieve these, he has created links with the local high school and community groups and used the region’s bale art competition to promote a local food festival. 

It has been a busy 12 months for Andrew who, through a number of social media campaigns, helped boost ticket sales for the club’s charity concert by 25% and built on the club’s charity donations by adapting the club syllabus to suit the current members. By changing the race night event to a pub quiz, a crowd triple the size of previous years helped raise £1540, and a sponsored climb of Ben Nevis raised a further £550 for Lanarkshire Mental Health – supporting SAYFC’s ‘Are ewe okay’ campaign. 

The prizes kept coming too in an array of activities – he won the West Area stockjudging at Ayr Show; was part of the winning team at the Lanarkshire and West Area seven-a-side football competitions as well as Lanarkshire and West Area volleyball; won Lanarkshire Mr Young Farmer and stood second at the West final, among many others. 

In a push to attract new members from different backgrounds, Andrew has planned the club’s first equestrian night as a winter meeting – made possible by applying to the Willie Davidson 75th Anniversary Fund – and visited the local high school as part of a careers day to inform pupils about farming and Young Farmers. 

One of his many highlights, however, has got to be seeing the growth of the young members through the club’s concert and Talent Spot performances – culminating in a win at the West Region Talent Spot at the weekend. 

“As chairman I have tried to help develop the club and it’s members. Throughout the year there have been some great examples of how Young Farmers can help people flourish. I really feel that are very few organisations which are run exclusively by young people that can match the diversity of events and quality of opportunities that Young Farmers clubs offer.” 

He may have achieved a great deal in his SAYFC career so far, and is well on the way to ticking off his list of ambitions for his year as chairman – which included winning National Member of the Year, taking advantage of the international opportunities (he has been picked as part of the European Rally team), and winning West Region Talent Spot – but for Andrew the future’s bright, both for him and the organisation.