With the weather improving, and the weeks fast ticking away before some pretty big events in the Young Farmers calendar, the last month has been busy to say the least.

I think the biggest event, in terms of something that has never been done before in Young Farmers history, was the recording of our charity single, “Put That Hoedown”.

On Sunday, March 16 a group of 50 Essex members took a coach to the world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London to record the chorus of our song.

The experience was amazing, and one I am sure we will never forget.

If going to Abbey Road wasn’t exciting enough, the day before we had a 4am start to film our music video for the song.

It involved quite a lot of “hair and makeup” at a very early time in the morning, but luckily the weather was on our side and Hadley’s Dairy kept us fed all day with plenty of their yummy ice cream!

The Essex mixed hockey and intermediate and senior public speaking teams all went to the Eastern Area round of the competitions and all won.

The hockey team qualified for the Nationals, and the public speaking teams went on to compete at Northern Area, where the intermediates won their category, and the seniors were placed fourth.

If this wasn’t enough competitions, it then got a whole lot busier at the start of April with the annual Prelims weekend, which consists of a party on the Friday night and competitions all day Sunday, with the contests ranging from naming the tractor parts to completing an obstacle course and even face painting!

Essex Young Farmers gets a lot of support from our subscribers, who were often members themselves in their day. Every other year the subscribers put on an event called, “The Ex-Factor Revue” which is a variety show with songs, comedy sketches and some jokes about members of the county.

This popular event always raises lots of money, and this year the proceeds were split between the British Heart Foundation, Essex Air Ambulance and the federation.

It isn’t that long now until our show on Sunday, May 18. Normally around 12,000 visitors attend and we anticipate that this year will be bigger and better than ever. Tickets can be bought in advance on our website at www.essexyoungfarmers.com. Gates open at 9.30am and if you fancy a family day out, our show would be perfect for you.

If you would like more information on Essex Young Farmers and are considering joining, please give us a call on 01245 360442 or drop us an email to office@essexyfc.co.uk .

Remember you don’t have to be a farmer to be a Young Farmer; you just have to be aged 16 to 26 and keen to get involved and to meet new people!