CELEBRATING its fourth year, the Agri and Rural Affairs conference welcomed around 100 SAYFC members from across Scotland to the Golden Lion Hotel, Stirling, from Friday 17 to Sunday, November 19, with members attending from across Scotland.

The weekend gave members the opportunity to not only catch up with like-minded members of the organisation, but to also hear first-hand some pointers from key industry leaders.

The conference kicked off with a formal dinner on the Friday evening with delegates hearing from three brilliant guest speakers; Sam Mercer (Reekies), Robert Ramsay (SAC), and our after dinner speak, Sir John Campbell OBE (Glenrath Farms).

Sam and Robert spoke about embracing change, which was the theme for the conference, and also spoke about what the changes they foresee in the future of farming. Sir John gave a very motivational speech talking about his farming story and the challenges and achievements of Glenrath Farms, including topics such as succession planning and continued investment.

The guest speaker for the Saturday dinner was Finlay Carson MSP, who addressed the changes that face Scottish farming as a result of Brexit.

On the Saturday, attendees were given the chance to attend a couple of workshops and to visit some local farms. For those interested in dairy they visited Alan Brewster’s Wester Borland Farm, a 330-acre farm that has seen a real transformation replacing a 200 suckler beef herd with 250 Holstein heifers. The beef and sheep visit was held at the MacGregors' farm, Allanfauld Farm at Kilsyth, which is a fourth generation family run incorporating 1800 acres with a large flock of 1600 ewes and a number of cattle including Charolais, pure Luings and cross cows.

The third choice was an arable visit to Kirkton Farm, Culross, a family farm run by Robert and Alex Brewster farming 800 acres for cereals and 200 for potatoes. The farm grows winter wheat, winter barley, spring beans, potatoes and oilseed rape as well as grading their own potatoes and producing certified cereal seed through their seed processing unit.

Following on from the first farm visits the whole group then met at Old Leckie farm, Gargunnock, for the second visit, which is a family farm run by Fergus and Alison Younger. The visit looked at a number of ventures that the farm is undertaking, aligning with the theme of the conference, which is focused on adapting to change and diversification. The farm is a small 300-acre mixed farm producing/operating 60 suckler cows (store and some finished), 350 ewes (all fat lambs), 600 laying hens, four sows, hay to sell, bagged salad, a biomass boiler, farm stay accommodation as well as farm tours.

To conclude the farm visits, SP Energy Networks gave the whole group a demonstration on farm safety.

Workshops were then held during the afternoon, where delegates are able to attend two of the five sessions on offer;

BLOB The Royal Bank of Scotland delivered a workshop on business planning and outlined what young farmers need in order to approach the bank for funding.

BLOB United Auctions addressed succession planning and how young farmers can become more established in the industry.

BLOB Scottish Agronomy delivered a workshop linked to the morning’s farm visit to the Brewsters' Kirkton farm, focusing on the production of certified cereal seed, variety selection and identifying what the market requires to ensure longer term sustainability. Local trial data was analysed.

BLOB Caroline Millar, director of Go Rural and a Nuffield Scholar, used her extensive experience to provide a workshop on diversification, looking particularly at how to develop an agri-business.

BLOB Massey Ferguson presented a business model for young farmers designed to help them get a step up on the ladder where farm machinery is concerned.

The conference concluded on the Sunday with a safety talk by SP Energy Network. The delegates also heard from Pat MacArthur from Glasgow Warriors, who discussed mental health.

The talk was followed by a panel debate, which focused on embracing change, gauging the views of the panellists on where they envisage change happening in farming, how to adapt to future uncertainty and where they see the direction of the industry heading.

One of the major sponsors of the conference, Massey Ferguson, held a photo competition with the best photo of the weekend winning a £100 MF merchandise voucher-congratulations to Lianne Brunton, East Fife YFC.

Agri and Rural Affairs chairman, Duncan Morrison, summed up the weekend: "The Agri and Rural Affairs weekend saw a coming together of like-minded Young Farmers from all over the country. The passion and enthusiasm for agriculture coming from the group was great to see, there are clearly difficult times ahead for the industry but the mood amongst the group remained positive as they actively sought out ways in which to adapt to change.

"We had a brilliant line-up of farm visits, speakers and breakout sessions, each giving an insight into how they are dealing with change and uncertainty. There were a lot of fertile minds in attendance so we look forward to hearing some of the new ideas that might come out of the weekend."