Young Farmers at the Rally

For members of Beds YFC the annual rally held each year in May is the highlight of the competing year. Members compete for their clubs in three age groups (junior, intermediate and senior) to gain points to win individual and club cups. Clubs can be identified by the different coloured rugby tops. 

In Bedfordshire their are 7 clubs who compete at the Rally. The points are split evenly across the 5 sections of the rally. The club gaining the most amount of points is awarded the main prize as overall winner of the YFC Rally at a party held on the evening of the rally.

The sections are as follows:

Section 1 - Pre Rally - this is held in March and consists of a number of classes that involve practical skills. These classes have to be done on the day. Competitors take along all of the materials that they would need and then at the event compete against the other clubs. 

Section 2 - Livestock - this section involves a lot of different areas. The first is the stock judging (held prior to the main rally day) where competitors have to judge a pen of four animals and then place them in the correct order before giving reasons to a judge for their placing. This section also includes all the stock that is seen at the rally where members take along animals that they have cared for and show them against other similar breeds. All of the points from the equine and poultry classes also go towards this section. 

Section 3 - Practical Skills - around the show members can be seen competing in practical skills like tractor handling and job interviews for points for this section.

Section 4 -Handicrafts - the points from this section are gained from all of the flowers, handicrafts and cookery on display at the rally. The handicrafts and cookery can be prepared at home and then taken to be displayed but the flowers are all arranged at the sight either the night before the rally or in the morning.  

Section 5 - Main Ring - all of the YFC competitions that happen in the main ring (except the tug of war) are to gain points for this section, this includes the decorated floats. The articles that can be seen in the year book also help clubs to gain points in this section.