Records of the Garioch Farmer Club

Three minute books of the Garioch Farmers' Club.

The Garioch Farmer Club was formed at Pitmachy in July 1808 as an agricultural society. The founding members included: the Earl of Kintore, Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk, General Hay of Rannes, Hugh Gordon of Manar, Alexander Gordon of Newton, Alexander Leith of Freefield, John Leslie of Balquhine , Roderick M'Kenzie of Glack, Harry Niven Lumsden of Auchindoir, William Gordon of Rothney, George Leith of Overhall, Robert Dalrymple Horn Elphinstone of Horn and Logie, George Skene of Skene, John Forbes of Blackford, Garden Duff of Hatton, William Leslie of Warthill and James Leslie of Rothie.

The first President was the Marquis of Huntly, with the Earl of Kintore as Vice President. The club was unusual in that it was founded by landowning proprietors who invited farmers, rather than the farmers themselves.

It held one of the earliest agricultural shows in Scotland in 1811, at its headquarters in Insch. Funds were raised for entertainments for members, and to promote agricultural improvements. Events included ploughing matches. The Club supported the training of a farrier for the area, and offered prizes for agricultural innovations, and competitions for women turnip hoers (later for the woman who worked the greatest number of days at out-door work), land reclaiming, house building or cleanliness of house and garden. In the 1830s and 1840s premiums were offered in an effort to preserve the Aberdeenshire longhorned black cattle.

The final show was held on the 5 August 1939, shortly before the start of the second world war. At the meeting of the management committee at the end of that month the chairman "went on to the political situation & stated that he could not see anything elsse but war & very feelingly suggested that if war came the secretary should pay all oustanding accounts; prizes etc. & that the Club be brought to a stand still untill better days". The next meeting dates from 1949 with the president proposing the winding up of the Club "seeing there were no prospects of holding a show".

Source: Isabella M. Bruce "A century of Aberdeenshire Agriculture: a souvenir of the Garioch Farmer Club centenary", 1908 (available on the Internet Archive); Club minute book..

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Transferred to the Archives in 2006 by Aberdeenshire Information and Library Service.