Recently in Young Farmers Category

Five things that have amused me so far at the Young Farmers convention in Torquay.

• A caravan painted in John Deere livery.
• A minibus wedged on a wall by the Riviera Centre (which was freed with the assistance of some mechanically minded young farmers)
• NFYFC president Lionel Hill on his sponsored welly wear. Presumably he doesn't sleep in them?
• Someone on a bench shouting at me and our photographer, Pagey, that we looked like the oldest Young Farmers in town. I didn't mind because Pagey is much older than me so I'm sure they were referring to him.
• A bloke doing 30mph along the seafront on a lawnmower.

We've been here for nearly 24 hours now. I've used the sun tan lotion but (thankfully for Torquay) haven't donned my shorts yet. Onwards, upwards...

Wem Young Farmers Club has recently completed a charity bike ride from the top to the bottom of Shropshire.

The cyclists were raising money for two local charities: The Perry Riding School for the Disabled and Hope House children's hospice.

They set off early one morning from Whitchurch and - one puncture, a few slipped chains and a couple of falls later (not to mention aches and pains all round) - they arrived at the destination of Ludlow that afternoon. 

The 13 riders with a small entourage of helpers and a support vehicle covered more than 50 miles, dubbing the ride: 'Wem YFC Top to Tail Shropshire.'

"It was a tough slog but a brilliant experience and a superb challenge," says former club chairman Amy Hopley.

Here's something you don't see very often. A Chinese man being carried aloft through the lanes of rural Yorkshire.

This is a photo of a colleague of mine, Aly, who's at Glastonbury - she's with a group of local Young Farmers who help out at the event.

As I've said before, I hate camping - but I think I could make an exception for Glastonbury.

The Boss has been there (that's not my boss, that's the Boss - Bruce Springsteen).

I am very jealous.

Spoke to Sam Parris again this morning, one of The Barrow Boys.

The finalists have been announced for the Model Young Farmer Competition at this summer's Great Yorkshire Show.

The contest, which makes its debut this year, takes place on the first day of the event (Tuesday July 14).

The Britain's Got Talent dream ended for The Barrow Boys last night. You were robbed, lads. Robbed.

The Barrow Boys have now got their own Facebook group for supporters to join.

I still love that bit where Simon and Piers take back their buzzers! And Amanda's right: the Queen would love em! Watch the short clip from the show below.

Fantastic news - the Barrow Boys have made it through to the semi-finals of the hit TV show Britain's Got Talent with their 'extreme wheelbarrowing act'.

The West Country trio, who conceived the idea for their hilarious routine at Young Farmers, sufficiently impressed Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden on last night's show to make it to the final 40.

There will now be five semi-finals, beginning tonight, with two acts from each one going on to compete in the final next Saturday.

The three farming friends could become celebrities - they even get a mention on the BBC this morning.

I vaguely know one of them, Sam Parris, so I'll try to get hold of him and bring you more news over the next few days.

Meanwhile, I reckon the whole farming community should back their bid to take the top spot in this show, net the 100k and win the chance to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance. I bet she's a woman appreciates a few good wheelbarrow moves, after all.

Three farmers will be starring on primetime TV this weekend in an audacious bid to win Britain's Got Talent.

Sam Parris, Bobby Barnes and Lyle Burrough - aka 'The Barrow Boys' - will be appearing on the hit ITV show with their unique wheelbarrow act.

The trio from Devon perfected their routine, which involves dancing with barrows, in an attempt to impress the judges - Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden - and scoop the £100,000 prize money.

The three will have the support of Devon Young Farmers, among whom they're popular figures, but are also calling on farmers everywhere to back them.

Most contestants on these shows have a 'sob story' (you know the sort of thing: a dead relative, brought up in abject poverty, a terrible disease) which helps guarantee extra votes, but these boys are different - if anything, their story is that they haven't got a sob story, they're just doing it for a laugh. They're probably more worried about the prospects for this year's silage season that the likes of Simon Cowell.

If they progress through the last audition show which airs on Saturday evening, they'll then appear in one of the five semi-finals, the first of which is on Sunday, with the grand final airing on Saturday May 30.

They're up against some stiff competition, with other popular contestants in this year's coveted Britain's Got Talent contest including Susan Boyle, Jamie Pugh and Aidan Davis.

Dance acts like Flawless and Diversity have also been so original and are absolutely amazing. That Merlin bloke who looked as if he was about to drown himself in a diving helmet was also completely off the wall.

I'm told that the whole process was kickstarted by a throwaway comment, when someone jokingly said to the lads: You've got to go on Britain's Got Talent.

The three men are also proving a hit with audiences - particularly in rural areas. "Pretty skilled wheelbarrow handling,' one fan commented on YouTube.

"Proper job.. really enjoyed it, well done," said another. "You are gonna win it," declared another, while one simply declared: "Oh my God, I love it!"

The winning act in the show, which more than 14 million people watched the final of last year, will pocket the £100,000 cash, plus get to perform in front of The Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.

Watch the Barrow Boys and their "extreme freestyling barrowing" below.

Caught a few minutes of BBC Breakfast TV this morning talking about how Blackpool's tourist sector is trying to re-invent itself and go more upmarket.

It won't make any difference to the Young Farmers, who after this year's recent jamboree in the Lancashire town have decided to opt for Torquay for their annual get-together next year. According to the Blackpool Gazette, the incident we described on Field Day was a contributory factor in their decision..

Maybe if Blackpool reinvents itself, it can win over my travelling companion Christopher Biggins.

I'm a man of my word so, seeing as I said I'd give the bloke who sung Mr Brightside a name check if he got in touch, I suppose I better.

It was Tricky Evans from Alberbury Young Farmers Club in Shropshire.

When I was talking to Christopher Biggins the other day (who says I'm a name dropper) he told me he thought Blackpool was fun.

I was a bit surprised, therefore, to see in The Metro this morning that he's rounded on the place. According to the free London newspaper, he claims it's got 'the ugliest people in the world' and dubs it his 'least favourite place'. Apparently, he also wants the whole seafront torn down and rebuilt...

I only hope his comments weren't prompted by the Young Farmers visit to the town...

A couple of my colleagues put together this short video of the Farmers Weekly crew out and about during the Young Farmers weekend in Blackpool - at work and at play!

I'm not very happy at them laughing at me for looking so pale in a yellow shirt..

Not that I looked a lot better in the orange one I swapped it for.

OK, not quite business as usual - a couple more bits of Young Farmer news.

We're giving FW readers the chance to win the final one of our "Farmer Frankie Says Relax" shirts that proved so popular in Blackpool. All you've got to do is complete this phrase: "Farming is...."

You might write one word, one sentence, one paragraph or you could pen a whole article. Your entry might be serious or light-hearted. It might make a point, it might make us laugh. Email it to fwfarmlife@rbi.co.uk or put it on to our website forums.

We'll publish a selection on Field Day and in the magazine - and the sender of the one we like best will also get our iconic T shirt (it's size large).

That isn't me in the photo, incidentally...

With the Hampshire guy I did a shirt swap with and some of his buddies last night...

I'm now back home after the epic Blackpool weekend. Could do with 12 hours sleep.

As promised, we swapped our FW shirts last night at the end of the evening for Young Farmer ones.

We decided to do this because last year loads of people asked us if they could have them (poor old Paul even had his ripped off him).

It was a hard call, knowing which one to go for - but I eventually swapped with a guy from Hampshire. It was a bit like what international footballers do at the end of a big match!

I liked Hampshire's distinctive orange colour (you could see them at 100 yards) and the smutty slogan on the back.

You can see a big selection of the Young Farmers shirts (including the Hampshire one) with their witty slogans in a gallery here. Be warned: some are rather risque, so don't look if you're of a sensitive disposition!

A team from Kent has just won FW's Blackpool Golden Ticket competition.

The guys and girls from Ashford managed to locate a massive 11 of the 30 FW Golden Tickets, which we stashed around Blackpool.

I'm a terrible singer, but at least I know it.

Some of the Young Farmers taking part in the rockaroake (rock karoake) this afternoon were almost as bad at singing as me, but they obviously didn't realise it.

Some of them, however, were really good. The guy who sang Mr Brightside by The Killers, for example. It's one of my favourite songs and I was expecting him to murder it (murder it.. The Killers... geddit!) but actually he was fantastic. I didn't catch his name (OK, I was in the loo as it was announced) but if it was you, then get in touch and I'll give you a name check.

As for those two lads from Radnorshire - well, don't give up your day jobs boys...

Just been watching the finals of the Young Farmers' drama competition. It's still happening so I can't tell you who's won yet, but I was laughing out loud at Golden Valley's production, called Where's There's a Will. Absolutely loved the scene with the vet and the glove!