AS I write this, the sun is currently shining in Aberdeenshire, however, judging by the forecast the days ahead will bring an abrupt end to a fairly settled spell that has produced a flurry of field work.

The crop that is already sown certainly won't be in a hurry to come through the ground in the forecast temperatures!

In the world of SAYFC our 2016/17 office bearers were elected last Saturday, where I was delighted and honoured to be elected as the national chairman for the year ahead.

I am, however, only a chairman, and the real team driving the association forward is each member that sits on national council.

Looking around the table on Saturday, I could not help but be impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of each individual from all regions in their shared ambition to further better the opportunities we provide to our members.

Back when I attended my first meeting of Belhelvie JAC almost 15 years ago, I would never have imagined I could be in this position.

During my time in young farmers, I have made an effort to have a go at most jobs at club level, although I still haven't managed to be elected as Belhelvie JAC tea convener ... maybe next year!

The year ahead will not be without its challenges. I'm sure it won't have escaped your notice that we were unsuccessful in securing our government funding for the next three years from the Children's and Young People Department.

It was a real blow. However, since 2013, we had carried out careful financial planning in case of this eventuality. Shortly following this, the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Department announced a funding grant which is to be used for agricultural training by SAYFC.

We are grateful to the Cabinet Secretary and his team for recognising the positive impact SAYFC has on rural youth throughout Scotland and their support is appreciated.

The funds, which are to be used in the next 12 months, will help us build on the training and development opportunities available to our members, empowering those who will undoubtedly impact the future of Scottish agriculture.

Our vision had always been to provide these services, however the provision of the grant from Richard Lochhead means that we can roll these out a lot sooner than expected.

Despite this, we are still projecting a financial loss in years 2016/17 and again in 2017/18, albeit a small one and hopefully returning to profitability the following year.

Like any organisation the association needs to be generating profit in order to invest in our staff, volunteers and members.

Following the announcement of our loss of funding, we were overwhelmed by the support shown by everyone within the agricultural community and beyond, and on behalf of SAYFC I would like to extend my thanks for this.

We hope to capture this enthusiasm by asking everyone to support their local club as much as possible. Is your club selling raffle tickets? Is there a potential member you know of that might not yet have considered joining the local club?

If we were all able to support our local clubs in small ways like this, it benefits the individual clubs greatly and, ultimately, it has a cumulative effect that benefits the national association and helps ensure its future sustainability.

In a similar vein, we have also re-launched a group called 'Friends of Young Farmers'. This group offers past members, friends and family the opportunity to keep up to date with SAYFC whilst giving them an opportunity to re-kindle past memories via the Friends of Young Farmers newsletters and an annual reception. Ultimately, this is another way to invest in the future of SAYFC.

Despite our forecasted financial losses, the future of SAYFC does look bright. The association is going from strength to strength with membership up again in 2015/16 for the third year running. Participation has also increased, for example entries into Highland Show competitions increased by 15% last year, particularly in the arts and crafts competition and stockmanship programme.

The Agri and Rural Affairs committee is also having a successful resurgence within SAYFC. Having been re-launched just a few years ago, already well attended visits have been organised. There is also an annual conference with guest speakers, break out discussion sessions and farm visits which is a real highlight of the year to some members and one of the favourite events in the SAYFC calendar ... not bad for only going into its third year!

The Agri and Rural Affairs committee is a real beacon of success and, hopefully, the industry can see we are passionate about developing strong leadership and workforce for the future of Scottish agriculture.

Moving forward, we have tasked our regional teams with increasing membership and participation by 5% over the coming year.

As well as this, there are a few areas that I personally want to tackle - the biggest issue within clubs I feel is poor member retention.

There are a huge number of clubs across the country where their oldest members are around 21 to 25 years of age.

I want us to investigate as to why members are leaving at this age, and how we can turn this trend around and keep members interested and engaged right up until they are 30.

I also want to be able to give as much support to the International Programme as possible. It offers amazing opportunities to travel to many destinations across the world, for little cost.

As a previous participant on the programme on both an exchange and to the European Rally, I know first-hand the fantastic experiences that members can get, and for such a valuable programme, there are still places that go unfilled each year.

We have a lot of work to do in the year ahead, but we have a fantastic team of office bearers and staff ready for the challenge!

I encourage you to support your local club in any way you can, and look out for all the SAYFC competitions and events happening at the Highland Show.

We would love to see you come into the centre and have a look around - hopefully the weather will have improved by then too!