After three years of reaching the national final of Junior Member of the Year, Ben Watson from Louth YFC in Lincolnshire finally took home the trophy.
The 18-year-old was praised for his dedication to YFC, not only in being instrumental in setting up Lincolnshire’s Youth Forum but also for his focus on young people’s mental health.
Ben first joined his club back in 2019, and described himself as ‘extremely shy’ before taking part in public speaking competitions. The first time he competed was online during the pandemic, but he hasn’t looked back since.
“I'm absolutely ecstatic to win. It's my third year at the national final so you can definitely say third time's a charm. I'm just over the moon with winning this achievement,” said Ben.
“Public speaking competitions turned me into the person I am today. I can say to my 11 year old self, you've changed and you've changed for the better. I used to be really, really shy, but now I'm a confident person who will talk to anyone.”
Ben’s time in YFC has not been free of tragedy. Sadly back in March 2024, Louth YFC’s chair Alec Newlove took his own life. The impact of his sudden loss on the club and county was immeasurable but swift action from a local charity, helped by Ben, supported members during a difficult time.
“Mental health was definitely one of my biggest drivers. As a farm worker myself, I know the struggles of feeling alone in the fields. I know the knock-on effect for families and friends and loved ones. Unfortunately, we have had to deal with that first hand in Young Farmers.
“Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) have a support worker in every single Young Farmers’ Club in the county now. There are 16 support workers in the whole of the Lincolnshire counties, and they're just amazing people to talk to. I was sitting my GCSEs at the time, and it was just the support I needed to get through that busy, stressful period of my life.
“It’s just nice to know there's support there. And now, other members and myself are more aware of how to spot the signs of mental health issues. And I think that's just one of the biggest achievements.”
Ben’s proudest moment in YFC is the formation of the Youth Forum in Lincolnshire – a group he feels is supporting junior members with developing confidence and providing much-needed connections.
“It’s a tremendous thing to have and provide to the juniors of the Lincolnshire county. We started off slowly with around 15-30 members but this 25-26 year, our biggest attendance was 60 junior members in the back garden of a pub doing a pub quiz,” said Ben.
Hosted on the last Friday of every month, they have also organised farm tours and social activities. It gives young people the space to meet and talk with each other, which Ben says is great for breaking down barriers for taking part in future competitions or events.
“It's just really good to see that all of them can come together on a Friday night and socialise with each other and make new friends all over the county.”
Sian Pritchard from Kuhn was on the judging panel for the award and was impressed by all seven of the finalists.
“It was my first time judging but the standard was extremely high – all seven were tough contenders for the award,” said Sian who described the process the finalists had to go through – with a written synopsis, presentation and formal interview – similar to a job interview.
“They were all very good at public speaking. What shone out was the variety of activities that people were doing. It’s participating – all seven of them wanted to give something back to YFC as they’d had such a wonderful time. You could see YFC is in good hands for the future.”
Despite the tough competition, Ben caught the judges’ attention the most.
“He stood out to us,” said Sian. “It was the variety of activities he was doing within YFC. He has already entered several times, so he had a certain level of maturity with that. He just pipped the post.”
The judges awarded Rosie from Suffolk and Elin from Ceredigion joint second place with the remaining finalists being James from Shropshire, Sophie from Devon, Archie from Yorkshire and Morgan from Kent.
