Callum Simpson Crowned Young Farmer of the Year 2025
Garioch Young Farmer awarded SAYFCโs biggest prize at Scottish Agriculture Awards after close-fought National Final. Callum (28) claimed the title on Thursday 23rd October after a tough final day of competition where he and his fellow 4 finalists took on a variety of practical challenges as well as presenting their prepared business plans to a panel of industry experts.
Reflecting on his win, Callum said: โIโve learnt many skills along the way, the biggest lesson being about how much help you can get. Galbraith and RBS have been exceptional, and it is reassuring to know that help is there. It makes me proud to be one of many young farmers, to not have just won the competition but be part of such a great community.โ
Along with the title and a national trophy, Callum received the grand prize of a Can Am Quadbike for life provided by competition sponsors ATV Services Scotland. Suzie Dunn, ATVโs Marketing & Business Development Manager detailed what makes the competition so special:
โItโs always inspiring to see the passion, capability, and determination of Scotlandโs young farmers on full display. The Young Farmer of the Year competition is a brilliant showcase of practical skill and forward-thinking talent, qualities that are vital to the future of our industry.
โAt ATV Services Scotland, weโre proud to support SAYFC and the next generation of farmers who are driving innovation and excellence in Scottish agriculture.โ
Behind Callum in second place was Scott Limond of Ayr YFC with Robert Kennedy, East Lothian JAC, coming in third. The competition this year was incredibly tight, with only the slenderest of margins separating these fantastic competitors from the top spot. A brilliant effort from all our finalists.
The practical tasks at this yearโs final included; Sheep Husbandry with NSA Scotland, Tractor Driving and Baler Repairs with Scot Agri and Massey Ferguson, Fencing with Thorburn Group and ATV Driving with ATV Services Scotland. Alongside this, each finalist presented their business plans to a panel of experts from Galbraith, Royal Bank of Scotland, Cefetra and Johnston Carmichael. The plans were prepared over the course of 6 weeks with the help of advisors from Galbraith and Royal Bank of Scotland and were built around a scenario based on their farm visit to South Corton Farm by kind permission of the Kerr family.
The award was hosted by the Scottish Agricultural Awards for the first time this year and it was amazing to see our Finalists celebrated amongst the best and brightest in Scottish agricultural. Thanks to RHASS, Scottish Farmer and Agriscot for their hospitality and to Newsquest Events for their brilliant hospitality. It was a truly special evening for all our finalists.
The Association would like to thank all the competition, supporters, advisors, judges and volunteers who helped throughout each stage. A special shout out to Jenny Murtagh our Agri and Rural Affairs Manager who worked extremely hard behind the scenes to pull all these moving pieces together.
