03 Feb Case Study: How Young Farmers took Wallace from a Scottish island to six continents
Wallace Currie, agri-podcaster and Knowledge Exchange Manager at the UK Agri-Tech Centre, is backing the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs’ (SAYFC) Big Build after Young Farmers opened doors to international travel, lifelong friendships and leadership opportunities that have shaped his career in Scottish agriculture.
Raised on his family’s beef and sheep farm on the Isle of Arran, Wallace remains closely connected to the business, continuing to support the farm alongside his role working from home as a part-time Knowledge Exchange Manager. His work focuses on the Adopt Support Hub, a £21 million development fund offering farmers, growers and foresters up to £100k for on farm trials.
Wallace first became involved with Young Farmers as a way to connect with the local agricultural community. In 2015, he founded Arran Young Farmers Club, successfully running the group until 2017. After the club paused following his move to Dumfries, Wallace was determined to see it return and, in 2025, worked alongside a new committee to restart Arran YFC, where he continues to serve as a committee member. Within a year, the club grew to 41 members and delivered 17 events, re-establishing it as a vibrant part of the island’s rural community.
From 2021 to 2023, Wallace lectured at SRUC in Dumfries, teaching meat and advanced dairy supply chains, sustainable business and agricultural food systems. Starting his lecturing career at just 23, Wallace sought out the SAYFC community as a way to connect locally. Through Lower Nithsdale Young Farmers, he quickly built lifelong friendships and became immersed in the club, including performing in a SAYFC concert, with a highlight appearance at The Hydro.
Wallace holds an honours degree in Agriculture, a master’s degree in Food Security and a postgraduate qualification in higher and tertiary education. In 2024, he became a Nuffield Scholar, travelling across six continents and 16 countries to explore pathways into agriculture through rural education, youth groups and consumer engagement. He credits SAYFC with unlocking many of these global opportunities and providing the confidence, networks and platforms to engage internationally. More recently, Wallace has also lectured in China with the Royal Agricultural University.
While furthering his career through study and work, Wallace also contributes to the wider sector through podcasting, event hosting and governance roles, including serving as National Communications and Marketing Chair, standing for National Vice Chair, and now sits on the organisation’s National Board – demonstrating his long-term commitment to the future of Young Farmers in Scotland.
Wallace said:
Hand on heart, Young Farmers has given me more in the last two years than almost anything else. It kickstarted my travel, gave me access to people, to strategy, to seats at tables. But most importantly, it gave me a home and a friendship base at a time when I was scared to build one. When I moved to Dumfries, Young Farmers gave me that foundation. It also gave me the opportunity to offer that same sense of belonging back to the other Young Farmers in Arran. It has massively enhanced my life.
We had a home at the Royal Highland Centre for 56 years, and it has been a touchpoint for generations of members. The Big Build will ensure we continue to have that base to support our staff and showcase who we are as a proud, member-led organisation. Our new national home will provide us with the space to work closely alongside other organisations supporting agriculture, while giving Young Farmers a space that truly represents us.
The SAYFC Big Build aims to create a new centre for Scotland’s rural youth, following the loss of its previous headquarters at the Royal Highland Showground. The new facility will provide a year-round base for Young Farmers staff and members, act as a social hub to help tackle rural isolation and strengthen community connections, offer event and office spaces to support collaboration with other agricultural organisations, and include archive and exhibition space to showcase the history of SAYFC.
SAYFC is now encouraging individuals, businesses and supporters across the rural community to get behind the Big Build. Donations will help create a lasting home that supports young people, strengthens rural communities and enables future success stories like Wallace’s.
Businesses, individuals, trusts, and organisations interested in contributing, securing naming rights, or discussing major gifts are encouraged to contact: [email protected] To find out more about SAYFC’s Big Build or to make a donation, visit https://www.sayfc.org/donate/sayfcs-big-build/