Club brings farming to the people

Many young farmers' groups have struggled for new members in recent times but one branch has bucked the trend. Worth Valley YFC, which hosts its meetings in Keighley, have doubled their numbers.

They have achieved this by setting out their stall for local people outside the agricultural community, rather than by the usual recruiting exercises. They have picked up on the fact that people in towns increasingly lead lives that insulate them from the realities of farming. They have stopped making the connection between what they put in their mouths with what goes on in the green fields beyond the city limits. Why do farmers matter? Sorry mate, no idea.

The scale of this ignorance was brought home to Young Farmers' Club club leader Andrew Wood three years ago. "We held our own open farm day where we showed members of the public what happens on a farm and how food is produced," he says.

"All of our members were shocked by just how little those not involved with farming, actually knew. We felt so strongly about it that the following year we decided to attend the Bront Vintage Gathering at Cullingworth with our own stand."

The outcome of that was the launch of their campaign called Why Local Food Matters which was stepped up a gear or two in the summer.

This time they organised their own YFC Food & Farming Exhibition, showing all the links in the food production process from field to fork.

"We showed the livestock, explained how to milk a cow, held a butchery demonstration, ran a farm shop and put on our own cookery demonstration," says Andrew.

"Over 5,000 people came along on the day, people of all ages, and we showed them how to cook using all local food. Our members visited Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food in Bradford to learn a recipe made with only locally produced ingredients.

"What we have realised is that if you can get others chatting about local food and how important it is that really does help."

Their initiative caught the eye of others further afield who saw that it ticked all the right boxes in terms of human interest with an educational focus.

"We are also now being followed by an organisation called ITV Fixers which follows young people who are making changes and have a passion for their subject.

"The idea is that a DVD will be available for schools to educate even more young people and that has to be good for us.

"This has been the best PR exercise we could ever have had. Our membership has doubled, but we never thought about it that way when we started. It might seem obvious now, in retrospect, but this kind of thing really is exciting people in our community and it shows just how relevant the young farmers' groups can be.

"I've never known anything like it for attracting new people. We are now getting parents actively encouraging their children to be involved and the young people themselves are wanting to join from every walk of life. That's got to be good."

Worth Valley YFC is part of Craven District of the Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs and has now brought more of the Pennine-based clubs into the orbit of this project.

Recently, two of their club members, Sophie Ogden and Sarah Shires, made a 20-minute presentation at a climate change and sustainability conference. They examined how "food secure" towns will be in the event of oil reserves falling to the point where the cost of transport rises alarmingly and cheap food become a thing of the past.

Sophie said: "What we said was well received and I think they were amazed by how much we had put into the project. One conference delegate, who manages the Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley, told us he would play our DVD on the large-screen TV in the centre."

"We have had real appreciation for what we are doing in our local community," adds Andrew.

"The South Pennines Leader programme has provided funds for us to continue adding to our work. Keighley Council has helped us, too."

Sarah Shires says: "We want the public to support all of our local produce networks – from the remaining milk producer retailers to butchers. More and more land is being left fallow or used for keeping horses. If people just bought a little more local produce we could reverse this trend and help bring back more livestock

to our area."

Their work has also caught the eye of the local MP, Kris Hopkins, who invited them to Westminster this week.

Autumn is traditionally the time when young farmers' clubs across the county hold weekly meetings with guest speakers. These can occasionally be boring affairs which do little to encourage existing or attract new members. Perhaps the lead shown by Worth Valley YFC, if replicated, could prove a winner throughout the Ridings for young farmers and public alike.

www.yfyfc.org.uk

CW 9/10/10