7th July 2009
Royal Show 2009
Young Farmers travelled from up and down England and Wales to compete and support their friends at NFYFC competitions finals held during the historic last Royal Show in Warwickshire.
NFYFC council chairman Bryce Mackellar was delighted to see the men's team from his home county of Staffordshire digging in their heels to triumph in the tug of war on the first day of the show, cheered on by a large crowd of supporters at the YFC arena. Support was equally boisterous for the winning women's team from Derbyshire. The contest was hard-fought by all the county teams who had won through to the final.
Wednesday saw members of the NFYFC council sit down for a breakfast meeting with Defra's director general for food and farming Katrina Williams, where they discussed farming issues including access to funding for skills and development and electronic identification (EID) of sheep.
Younger YFC members displayed their farm safety and first aid skills throughout the day in the junior farm safety competition, with Brecknock taking first place.
Candidates for the farm business development competition were put through gruelling interviews at the YFC centre by a panel of judges intent on testing their business acumen and entrepreneurial skills. The assessors praised the high standard and diversity of entries this year. First place and sponsorship to the Oxford Farming Conference went to the Gloucestershire team.
Thursday saw competitors demonstrating their prowess with modern farming vehicles, performing risk assessments and a host of tasks with a range of equipment provided by New Holland and Kuhn in the efficiency with safety contest in the YFC arena. Pembrokeshire took the top spot.
HRH the Duke of Kent toured the NFYFC marquee which hosted the exhibits from this year's static competitions including recycling posters, photography, eco houses, recycling models and cyber bullying webpages.
He chatted to exhibitors from Lantra, Vinvolved, Beatbullying and the Guild of Straw Craftsmen who had been helping NFYFC staff inform and entertain the hundreds of young visitors to the marquee throughout the week. The Duke was presented with an YFC tie by NFYFC president Lionel Hill.
Practical skills were again showcased in the fence erecting competition on Friday morning, which the Brecknock team won.
Government deputy chief whip Lord Davies of Oldham expressed a keen interest in YFC and working with young people during his tour of the marquee. The former teacher was shown displays on the importance of science in agriculture and learning activities involving growing seeds, recycling and the traditional craft of corn dolly making put on for visiting schoolchildren.
NFYFC agriculture and rural affairs chairman Doug Jackson chaired the final Royal Agricultural Society of England debate highlighting the huge range of career opportunities presented by modern farming and agriculture.
Speakers from Harper Adams University College, Fresh Start, Co-op Farms and the Agricultural Engineers Association outlined the need for 60,000 new entrants into the sector over the coming decade; the task of presenting new entrants with professional career paths to progress and develop; and changing perceptions among teachers and careers advisers to better reflect the enormous diversity of highly skilled roles presented by agriculture in the 21st century.
Winners of the static exhibits collected their silver during the chairman's reception hosted by Bryce Mackellar at the NFU Mutual hospitality marquee.
NFYFC and English Rural Housing Association (ERHA) launched a new survey to examine if difficulties securing rural housing were influencing young people's decision to live and work in the countryside.
Launching the survey, which is online under the national news tab, ERHA's operations director Martin Collett urged Young Farmers to share their experiences and concerns about housing in rural areas.
The survey, which aims to establish if the availability of suitable rural homes is having an impact on people thinking of entering or remaining in farming, was welcomed by NFU head of policy Dr Andrew Clark.
Four days of fun, learning and achievement were brought to a close by Bryce Mackellar, who thanked everyone involved in making the NFYFC's final Royal Show a success.
