The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs is one of the UK's largest rural youth organisations, heading 598 Young Farmers' Clubs, with a total of 22,000 members. The clubs provide a framework for events, training, competitions and other experiences for members aged 10 to 26.
Led by young people, the organisation helps other young people learn new skills, make lifelong friends, make a difference in their local community and even travel the world.
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Where did it all begin?
The Young Farmers' Club was founded in 1921 in Hemyock, Devon, by publishing magnate Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe. The United Dairies milk factory challenged the children of the area’s milk producers to take an active role in calf-rearing, offering prizes for those achieving the highest standards.
So successful was the initiative that the Ministry of Agriculture adopted its further development in 1922, following Viscount Northcliffe's death. More clubs opened throughout the 1920s, aimed at providing an education in agriculture, with the training focused on caring for all living things, including calves, poultry, pigs, bees, produce and gardens.
By the end of the decade, there were 50 clubs offering a rural social role, so in 1929, the National Council for Social Services stepped in to grow the group into a self-governing, voluntary organisation.
How did the Young Farmers develop?
In 1932, the governing body, the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, was founded. Membership boomed and new clubs were launched in Northern Ireland, Scotland and even as far afield as New Zealand and Australia. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, there were 412 clubs with a total of 15,000 young people.
While the war years saw the role of the YFC grow, in terms of developing agricultural classes in line with the Ministry of Agriculture's Dig for Victory campaign, they were also tough times, as many members joined the armed forces. A number of clubs had to close until after the war ended in 1945, as there weren't enough members left.
It seemed the YFC might have to close down for good at this time, but the Board of Education saved it with financial aid, in the form of a Treasury youth grant. In 1947, at the national AGM, it was decided to launch a new national agricultural training scheme to recognise and reward skills and boost craft expertise.
The YFC developed the scheme during the 1950s. Changing its name to the National Proficiency Test Scheme at the beginning of the 1960s, around 10,000 tests a year were being taken and thousands of young farmers were completing classes. Uniform national standards were introduced and the tests became a part of nationally-recognised assessment schemes.
Where is the Young Farmers' Club today?
From the 1960s onwards, the YFC members truly felt they were playing a positive role in society. The body developed more international links, organising exchange programmes, while members could join the Council of European Young Agriculturalists.
In the 1980s, the organisation's headquarters at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, expanded to include a training centre. Throughout the years, clubs have raised large amounts of money for local and national charities and provided labour and leadership for community projects.
Membership is steadily increasing and there are more junior members joining the organisation today. The YFC is continually evaluating its role in the rural agriculture and youth sectors to ensure it is relevant and meets the needs of today's modern members.
Can anyone be a part of the Young Farmers' club?
You don't have to be a farmer to join the Young Farmers' Club! Anyone aged between 10 and 26 can join - the only requirements are that you love rural life and want to be involved with something new.
The Young Farmers' Club gives young people a great social life and a chance to make friends for life, with an opportunity to learn new rural and agricultural skills.
How is Prince Charles involved in the YFC?
As president of the YFC, Prince Charles has supported the Young Farmers' Club over the years, as he has always had a personal interest in sustainable agriculture. Most notably, The Prince’s Countryside Fund helps provide funding to train young farmers, providing a welcome boost for the YFC branches across the UK.
He also provides The Prince of Wales Perpetual Charity Challenge Trophy for the county federation which raises the most money per member for a charitable cause. He gives inspirational speeches to groups of young farmers and has told them the many challenges that the world is facing, such as how to feed the growing population, will need to be solved by those working in agriculture.
Urging the group to put nature and the protection of the earth's ecosystems at the heart of its work, to ensure food security and improved human health in future, he says the group needs to work with nature, showing great resourcefulness, to help the planet. He also wants more young people to realise the value of agriculture and horticulture as a career.