Ticket to Fly!

International Travel Places Confirmed

Members of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs will soon be jetting off around the world with the confirmation of their International Travel Places!

This is the first year since Travel was interrupted by Covid in 2020 that SAYFC have been able to offer members a full roster of International Travel Opportunities. International Chair Linsey Campbell is excited to have the programme back to full strength,

“I’m so excited for international travel to be back! Some of my best memories and greatest opportunities have stemmed from the experiences SAYFC international travel provided me and I’m looking forward to being able to offer these same opportunities to our membership this year!”

Members leapt at the opportunity to see the world with SAYFC. Applying in their droves for a chance at getting onto their preferred trips. Each applicant was placed onto a waitlist before being interviewed either over zoom or in person at the recent National Competitions Weekend in Carlisle. The interviewers had the tough task of whittling down the candidates into a final travelling group, taking into account their reasoning for applying and what they will do to promote the international programme upon their return. So here are your (initial) International Travellers for 2023.

First off, we have our group travellers. These lucky applicants will enjoy a guided trip through the must-see sights of one of two incredible destinations. India and Croatia! Our (currently confirmed) 2023 Group Travellers are:

India (Group Travel)

Nicole Work (Harray)

Charlotte Wildman (Lower Nithsdale)

Fiona Cuthbertson (Crossroads)

Mhairi Hall (Carluke)

Gayle Allan (Avondale)

Mairi MacDonald (Crossroads)

Anne Ashworth (East Fife)

Eilidh Strawhorn (Crossroads)

Nicholas McKissock (Crossroads)

Jillian Kennedy (Aberfeldy & District)

Emma Shanks (Kilmaurs)

Anna McDiarmid (Aberfeldy and District)

Joanne Hall (Carluke)

Ellen Glennie (Vale of Alford)

Beth Douglas (Bower)

James Scott (West Renfrewshire)

Croatia (Group Travel)

Hazel McHarg (Ayr & District)

Jennifer Veitch (Mauchline)

Lisa Brown (Crossroads)

Aileen McColm (Lower Nithsdale)

Gail Pollock (Avondale)

John Austin (Lower Nithsdale)

Robert Ramsey (Stranraer & Rhins)

James Gray (Crossroads)

Andrew McMillan (Bute)

Robert Hendrie (Crossroads)

Courtney Bell (Reston)

Tara Brisbane (Callander)

Emily Black (Callander)

Rachel Young (Stewartry)

Holly Dickie Moir (Deer and District)

Lucy McGillvary  (Keith and District)

Next up we have our successful Homestay applicants. These Members will be part of an exchange with other rural youth organisations from around the world. They will stay with and be guided around by host families and  get a unique perspective on their country , culture and agricultural practices. The (currently confirmed) homestay travellers are:

New Zealand (Home Stays)

Alison McCall (Kilmaurs)

Canada (Home Stays)

Andrew Bennie (Bathgate)

Ashley Spark (Brechin)

Ulster (Home Stays)

Aimee Gifford (Shetland)

Lucy Mitchell (West Fife)

Macra (Home Stays)

Holly Veitch (New Cumnock)

We will also be sending a group to participate in the Rural Youth Europe Rally in Austria. This annual event brings rural youth from across Europe together for a week of sharing ideas, cultural experience, and socialising. Each year the Rally has a theme which will drive discussion and guide the sessions throughout the week and this year’s theme is ‘Zero Waste, Zero Hunger- Circular Economy to Feed the World’. Our (currently confirmed) Rally Representatives are:

Austria (Rural Youth Europe Rally)

Jean Andrew (Beith & District)

Jordan Barclay (Strathmore)

Sophie Forbes (Nairn)

Aimee Margrove (Udny)

Isla Stewart (West Renfrewshire)

Over Competitions Weekend we also ran interviews for our Agri and Rural Affairs Study Tour to Canada. This trip is organised by our Agri and Rural Affairs Committee and is much more agriculturally inclined than our other opportunities. Candidates will get an in-depth tour of Canada’s rich agricultural landscape, finding out about practices and produce and bringing back that knowledge to their own practice. After the success of last year’s trip to Chile, the tour was in high demand, but our Interviewers were eventually able to narrow it down to a final list. Here are the (currently confirmed) Agri Travellers.

Agri & Rural Affairs Study Tour- Canada

Katrina Claire Kennedy (Aberfeldy)

Lynne Carrick (Kilmaurs)

John Forbes (Bower)

Lauren Todd (Reston)

Eve Newlands (Lower Speyside)

Jane Lindsay (Bathgate)

David Mitchell (Biggar)

Erin Boyle (New Cumnock)

Abby Forsyth (Stewartry)

Scott Dey (Inverurie)

Lauren Nelson (Lower Nithsdale)

Caitlin Ross (Loch Lomond)

Scott Brown (Crossroads)

Alistair Smith (Crossroads)

Christina Smith (Campbelltown/ Edinburgh)

Lewis Gallier (Udny)

Calum Greer (Kinross)

All of those candidates who have just missed out on offers have been placed on a waiting list and will have plenty of opportunities to travel with SAYFC in the future. Congratulations to all the successful applicants. And good luck to our International Travellers 2023.