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Randalstown YFCU has been named the 2021 YFCU Club of the Year
Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) has announced the winner of its 2021 Club Of The Year competition.
Winning club,
Randalstown YFC, has become the first to win the new Ann Cameron Cup. The award has been named in honour of the organisation’s long-serving former staff member Ann Cameron, who retired in 2019 after 47 years with the organisation.
A YFCU spokesman said: “Winning club of the year is a massive achievement and this reward is celebrated by all members of Randalstown YFC for the exceptional work they have done to achieve this prestigious award over the last 12 months.
Macra president Thomas Duffy on his dairy farm in Virginia, Co Cavan. \ Philip Doyle.
The late emergence of self-proclaimed outsider candidate Daniel Long prevented the second successive unopposed coronation of a Macra president.
John Keane was set to be elected unopposed, just as Thomas Duffy was two years ago. In 2019, at least there were robust contests for the three regional chairs, with nine candidates in all. This time only four people stood, and only Munster is being contested.
The count is being completed as I write, and Daniel Long is not present. He cited COVID-19 as a reason not to attend, but he also voiced reservations about the independent scrutineer and called for that person to be agreed upon by both presidential candidates.
The Irish Farmers Journal lost a close friend when Robin Morrow passed away on Thursday morning, 1 April, after a brief illness.
WR Morrow was a man with a huge passion for agriculture, agribusiness and farming politics. He was a born leader, always prepared to state his views and debate the consequences. But while he might disagree strongly, he could agree to differ. He did not bear grudges and was quick to move on with the task in hand.
Having served as a club leader and president of the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster, Robin moved on to leadership positions across the spectrum of farm organisations in Northern Ireland. Probably the most challenging was during the deregulation of milk marketing in the 1990s.
YFCU reports drop in members
To add further pressure, clubs are also understood to have experienced around a 25% fall in new member recruitment over the last 12 months.
However, the past year has seen some positives for the organisation – the Live to Dead event and competition run alongside Dunbia saw more than 400 members take part. Many clubs have also garnered newfound support in their local areas on the back of volunteer work in their communities throughout lockdown.
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Speaking to
Agriland, chief executive Michael Reid said: “It’s the first year we have ever had losses at both club level and headquarters. Simply put, if events didn’t happen, we didn’t get a sponsor.