Awards for young crofters at the upcoming Spirit of Crofting Awards 2018

Awards for young crofters at the upcoming Spirit of Crofting Awards 2018

Logo for Spirit of Crofting 2018 awards
Hannah Downey
Tuesday 26 June 2018 - 09:58

Celebrating the Spirit of Crofting, #CroftSpirit18 is a two-day event hosted by the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) and funded by Moray LEADER. The event is a celebration of crofting diversification and growth. The programme is a mix of presentations, workshops, networking opportunities and an awards ceremony on the first night that celebrates the contribution of young people in crofting. The event offers an opportunity for knowledge transfer and inspiration and showcases small to medium croft enterprises from producer to consumer and explores the links and possibilities in these enterprise chains.

Applications and nominations are invited for:

Best Crofting Newcomer Award: This is aimed at those aged 16 – 25 who have a keen interest in the land and may have attended crofting training courses as well as made a start in crofting.  The award Quaich will be called “The Euan MacRae Best Crofting Newcomer Award”.  This is named after Euan MacRae of Drumbeg, Sutherland who sadly passed away in Summer 2017 just before his 20th birthday.  He was a keen young crofter, his passion was crofting and this award will be aimed at those starting out in crofting with a similar passion.

Young Crofter of the Year Award: This is aimed at those aged 40 and under who have taken their first steps on the crofting ladder or have established themselves in crofting and are a good example of best practice and success within their field.

The judging panel comprises Patrick Krause (CE, SCF), Mairi MacKenzie (Crofting Commissioner), Brian Denoon (Rural Training) Tina Hartley (SCF Training) and Amanda MacRae (Crofter) and the awards will be presented by Mel Irivine of Drummuir, one of the stars of BBC TV “This Farming Life”.

Nominations close on  Sunday 15th July 2018

For more information, contact the events team at the Scottish Crofting Federation, or for applications and nominations forms are available at the Scottish Crofting Federation website