The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (NFYFC) is a rural
youth organisation in the United Kingdom. The Federation covers various Young Farmers' Clubs (YFCs) throughout
England and Wales, helping support young people in
agriculture and the countryside. It does not include YFCs from
Scotland or
Ireland.
History
The first Young Farmers' Club opened in 1921 in
Hemyock, Devon
Hemyock () is a village and civil parish in Devon, England. It is about 8 miles north-west of Honiton and south of the Somerset town of Wellington. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,519. Hemyock is part of the electoral ward ...
, where the
United Dairies milk factory set children of the area's milk producers the task of calf rearing, with competitions and prizes for those achieving the highest standards.
Over the next decade more clubs opened to provide agricultural education, with the focus on the keeping of growing and living things including calves, pigs, poultry, bees and gardens.
After the death of one of YFC's original founders and greatest inspirations,
Lord Northcliffe, in 1922 the
Ministry of Agriculture took on development of the organisation. But within six years it was proving difficult for it to offer the type of help needed by the members to organise the 50 clubs or offer guidance on the rural social role Young Farmers' Clubs were assuming. In 1929 the
National Council of Social Services (NCSS) stepped in with the goal of developing YFC as a voluntary, self-governing and self-generating organisation.
1930s
The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs was formed in March 1932, with its head office in London.
New clubs sprang up in Scotland, Northern Ireland and as far afield as Australia and New Zealand, and by the outbreak of the Second World War the federation included 412 clubs and 22 county federations with a membership of 15,000 people.
1940s and 1950s
The war years marked a turning point for YFC with the development of agricultural classes and proficiency tests, but were also nearly disastrous as many YFC supporters and staff were drawn into the armed forces or war work. Some clubs announced they were closing until after the war and by the end of 1940 few people held much hope of reviving YFC.
But the picture changed dramatically when the Board of Education (BoE) was empowered to give financial help to youth organisations including YFC. A joint advisory committee was formed between the BoE, Ministry of Agriculture and NFYFC. Though membership had dropped to just 7,000, YFC now had government help, and had undergone a wide change, educationally and socially.
It had become obvious that YFC could provide a countryside youth service and also clear it couldn’t do so with its existing staff, so the advisory committee made possible the appointment of an organiser for each county as part of the NFYFC staff.
Then, just as the organisers had been appointed in 1943, the Treasury decided grant aid from the national government could not be used to appoint staff working at county level and YFC members were committed to shouldering the financial responsibility.
A resolution was passed at the national AGM in 1947 to devise a national scheme to encourage crafts and recognise and reward skills. It aimed to encourage YFCs to organise instruction on a wide range of subjects. This was developed throughout the 1950s and formally recognised as the National Proficiency Test Scheme. By the end of the decade 10,000 tests a year were being taken and many thousands more Young Farmers were taking classes.
When the tests became a formal part of nationally recognised assessment schemes, uniform national standards became necessary, and as NFYFC did not have the necessary resources it gave up control of the scheme.
1960s and 1970s
Society's swiftly changing attitudes in the 1960s helped to produce YFC members who felt that as they were contributing to the cost of their organisation they had the right to make the decisions, and who realised the positive role YFC could play.
The national office moved from London to
Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, in 1968. YFC influence spread and its standing as a national youth organisation became better understood. New avenues opened and the horizons of members broadened as they looked at things that would give YFC a wider involvement. YFC worked hard in developing its international links and exchange programme and members were able to join the Council of European Young Agriculturalists (
CEJA
Ceja may refer to:
People
Ceja is a Spanish-language surname. People with the surname include:
* Julio Ceja (disambiguation), various people
* MC Ceja (born 1978), Puerto Rican hip hop singer and composer also known as ''El Cejón''
* Ramón C ...
).
1980s and 1990s
As the federation celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1982, membership was at record level. The HQ at Stoneleigh Park was enlarged to include space for a training centre and improved motorway connections with the Midlands allowed members and county staff to take advantage of the courses offered. The result was a large group of senior members eager to serve as officers and leaders and use their skills to widen the organisation's thinking.
With great traditions and a successful past, YFC looked ahead to the next 50 years aiming to retain those traditions yet be flexible enough to attract young people who were becoming more sophisticated with each generation.
It had found a way of neither becoming a single purpose organisation, nor a general youth organisation, of retaining its countryside and farming traditions and yet being sophisticated enough to appeal to a wide spectrum of young people.
Throughout the golden years morale in clubs was good, members were keen to participate. They raised large amounts of money for local and national charities and provided labour and leadership for community projects.
The Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee became a very effective force. Conservation, land use and agribusiness programmes were devised and the establishment of farm business tenancies was much influenced by this group.
YFC was encouraged by government, financial institutions, business and academia to continue its pioneering role and sponsorship and grants were made available to augment YFC's subscription income to finance developments.
Many members have gone on to represent their communities and agriculture at the highest levels on district and county councils, as MPs, MEPs and within the realms of agri-politics both nationally and in Brussels, where John Lee (Devon) was elected president of
CEJA
Ceja may refer to:
People
Ceja is a Spanish-language surname. People with the surname include:
* Julio Ceja (disambiguation), various people
* MC Ceja (born 1978), Puerto Rican hip hop singer and composer also known as ''El Cejón''
* Ramón C ...
.
2000s
The Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001 affected the way the YFCs were able to function. Many members were affected and most clubs took the decision to close yet remained in contact to ensure peer support was there at this crucial time.
Membership is steadily increasing and there is a significant increase in the number of junior members joining the organisation.
NFYFC has been reviewing and evaluating its role within the rural youth and agricultural sectors, ensuring it is able to continue to meet the needs of today's members.
Structure
Their memberships comprise over 23,000 young people aged between 10 and 26 years. YFCs are run by members for members, unlike most other
youth organisations
The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise.
...
.
The YFCs are grouped into 51
federations based mainly on
county boundaries. These are grouped further into six
regional areas in
England and Wales and together form the NFYFC.
The Young Farmers' Clubs organisation involves people who live, work, or have an interest in the
countryside who join together to form an "open" Young Farmers' Club, where they can pursue their interests through a self-directed programme of activities encompassing
agriculture,
sport,
community volunteering,
the environment and a full social programme.
England and Wales are also home to a limited number of school-based farm units, which often operate "School" Young Farmers' Clubs.
County
Each club is affiliated to its
County Federation; responsible for organising the County events and activities and administration of national activities.
Federation areas:
*
Eastern England
*
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
*
Northern England
*
South East England
*
South West England
*
Wales
*
West Midlands
National
All Clubs and Counties are affiliated to the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs whose role is to help ensure that programmes of personal social education through activities which challenge the abilities and capabilities of its members.
The National Office is based at
Stoneleigh Park,
Warwickshire.
See also
*
4-H
4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...
*
Conseil Européen des Jeunes Agriculteurs
The Conseil Européen des Jeunes Agriculteurs (CEJA) ("European Council of Young Farmers") is an umbrella organisation gathering young farmers from all over Europe and is one of the key advocates for the agricultural sector in Europe. This non ...
*
Farm World ''Farm World'' is a weekly United States farming technology magazine that has been published 51 weeks a year, every Wednesday, since 1955 and is owned by MidCountry Media, Inc., who bought it from Daily Mail and General Trust in 2009. The magazine h ...
*
European Council of Young Farmers
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine
European cuisine co ...
*
Rural Youth Europe
Rural Youth Europe (RYEurope) is a European Non-Governmental Organisation for rural youth. Founded in 1957, it is an umbrella for European youth organisations working in rural areas. It was established as “European Committee for Young Farmers ...
*
United States Junior Chamber
References
External links
*
National
National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs Home Site*{{dmoz, Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Society_and_Culture/Teen_and_Youth/Organisations/Young_Farmers_Clubs, Young Farmers Clubs
Scottish Young Farmers
County
A List of Federations (alphabetically ordered by Federation name)
Bedfordshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsBerkshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsBrecknock Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsBuckinghamshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsCambridgeshire and Peterborough Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsCheshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs* Cornwall Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs
Cumbria Young Farmers ClubsDerbyshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsDevon Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsDorset Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsCounty Durham Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsEast Riding of Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsEssex Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsGlamorgan Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsGloucestershire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsHampshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsHerefordshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsHertfordshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsKent Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsLancashire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs*
Leicestershire (and Rutland) Young Farmers'
Lincolnshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsNorthamptonshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsNorthumberland Federation Of Young Farmers ClubsNottinghamshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsOxfordshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsPembrokeshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsShropshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsSomerset Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsStaffordshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsSuffolk Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsWarwickshire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsWorcestershire Federation of Young Farmers' ClubsYorkshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs
Individual clubs
A List of Young Farmers' Clubs (alphabetically ordered by club name)
Crook Young Farmers Club - CumbriaGreat Dunmow Young Farmers Club - EssexLeek Young Farmers Club - StaffordshireLeighton Buzzard Young Farmers Club - BedfordshireMaendy - Glamorgan
Northallerton Young Farmers Club - Cledales District - Yorkshire*
Welsh Newton - HerefordshireWorth Valley - Yorkshire
Youth organisations based in the United Kingdom
Organisations based in Warwickshire
Agricultural organisations based in the United Kingdom
Farmers' organizations
1932 establishments in the United Kingdom
Youth organizations established in 1932