Will Duggan has been anounced as the new chairman of the Federation of Isle of Man Young Farmers in their 75th anniversary year.

This should have given him the honour of leading off the weekend’s two Christmas Tractor Runs but a rather more important family event caused a last-minute hitch.

Will’s wife, Robyn, had been due to give birth to twins just after Christmas but they made an early appearance on Friday, which meant him missing that night’s tractor run.

The new arrivals, both girls, are called Lucy and Faye. They have joined the family which already includes daughter, Alice.

The Duggans who farm at Ballavell in Grenaby, were sending out three decorated tractors for this year’s parades.

Will was able to make it for the run on Saturday, whilst his cousin, Ste Ennett shared the driving on one of the other tractors over the two nights with Jess Quaye, whilst Percy Hampton and Will’s brother in law, Nick Harris, drove the other.

Will is the third generation of Duggans at Ballavell. He follows in the footsteps of his grandfather Dougie and his father Colin who still works full time on the farm.

I well remember first seeing Will when I arrived at Castle Rushen High School a good number of years ago with my younger son, to collect his GCSE results. Will, who was in the same school year, arrived at the same time, driving up to the door of the school in a very large tractor, and it was clear then that he would be spending his working life farming.

’I was never going to do anything else,’ he says.

The subject of succession on local farms is a very current issue, as our local farming population is getting older and it’s not every son or daughter who wants to carry on the family farm. Nor is it every parent who would encourage them to do so.

Will says: ’I was never discouraged, or told not to, but I think it is easy to get discouraged.’

The Duggan family farms dairy, milking just over 100 cows; beef, and nearly 100 acres of arable. They grow spring barley, mostly for feed, but they also sell a small but increasing amount each year to the Manx Whisky company, which makes craft whisky.

Will says: ’We like to grow about five different varieties each year to spread the risk. This year Cosmopolitan gave us the heaviest crop of spring barley we’ve ever seen but some of what we’ve normally grown in the past wasn’t just as good so we’re always experimenting.’

He joined the Young Farmers in 2000 when he was 12: ’I was always going to be in it, everyone - my sister, my cousin - were already in it.’

He adds that he had ’always wanted to be chairman at some point’, though he concedes that, for him, it couldn’t have happened at a busier time.

When I ask him what has he got out of the Young Farmers over the years, he says: ’Everything really. I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing, or the way I’m doing it, without it: going on the farm tours and stock judging all round the island. I’ve been on a lot of farms and got a lot of ideas, things like that.’

I also ask Will what he likes best about farming.

He says: ’Whatever is next in the season. So, if it’s now, the next thing will be looking forward to spring for turnout and getting crops in the ground. And once we’ve got that over, then it’s looking to what we’ve got in the summer, making silage and hay and doing that sort of thing. Then it’s looking forward to harvest then to calving again in the back end, and the cycle repeats.

’So we just look forward to whatever is coming I don’t think there’s any part of it we don’t look forward to.’

Young Farmers

75th anniversary event

Will’s chairmanship coincides with the Isle of Man Federation of Young Farmers’ 75th anniversary celebrated with a bash at the Villa, where the dress code was black tie and wellies.

The DJ for the night was Chris Stark from BBC Radio One and the event attracted 150 young farmers from the UK who braved the Storm Arwen gales to come to the event.

Isle of Man Young Farmers secretary, Bryony Kneale, said: ’It certainly was a night to remember.

’It definitely was something different for us and we were extremely lucky to be able to hold such an event with the way the world is at the moment. Finally being able to have our friends over from Young Farmers’ Clubs in the UK was certainly one of the highlights and it was great to catch up with them and meet new members who also visited.

’A huge thank you must go to all the staff at the Villa Gaiety for accommodating us and for all the effort they put in to helping us make everything run smoothly.’