So September has arrived, and all is busy again in the Young Farmer world, writes Jess Roche.

Members have finished harvest for the year, and most clubs have now had their AGM, voting in their new chairman, secretary and committees. A lot of members have already signed up for this year, but Essex Young Farmers is always looking for new members, aged 16-26, to sign up and get involved. You won’t regret it!

Essex held its first competition, “It’s a Knockout”, which involved a few fun competitions such as sumo wrestling and racing in hamster balls, between the different clubs in the county. The turnout was excellent, and a lot of fun was had by all. The competitions chairmen have lots planned for the year, so come along and get involved, even if sport isn’t your thing, then there are lots of novelty competitions and non-sporting ones.

It has also been a very busy time for the county Activities Rep, who has been organising our first formal event of the year, “The Golden Welly Awards”. Over 250 tickets have already been sold, and there have been lots of nominations for the different categories, and I look forward to updating you on the success of the evening in next month’s column.

There are lots of events that we are all looking forward to in October, including our harvest service in Chelmsford Cathedral, as well as clubs running their own harvest suppers, where they celebrate the past year, and invite all friends and supporters to join them. Different clubs do things differently, some put on a casual affair, where the club cooks dinner for all the guests, whilst others have big black tie celebrations. Both are very popular with members and subscribers, and it is a lovely occasion to reflect on the achievements of members.

The Essex Young Farmer year only gets busier from here, so take this opportunity to find out more, and decide whether you would like to join in with our friendly bunch. For more information please visit: www.essexyoungfarmers.com. Remember, you don’t have to be a farmer to be a Young Farmer! We hope to see you at an event soon!