The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs (NFYFC) is a rural

youth organisation 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. 0 ...

in the United Kingdom. The Federation covers various Young Farmers' Clubs (YFCs) throughout

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

, helping support young people in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and the countryside. It does not include YFCs from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

The first Young Farmers' Club opened in 1921 in Hemyock, Devon, where the

United Dairies United Dairies is a former United Kingdom-based creamery, milk bottling and distribution company. The company was formed in 1915 and merged to form Unigate in 1959. During World War I, there were dire shortages of men, horses and vehicles com ...

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 Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

, in 1922 the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

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 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(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 Stoneleigh Park, known between 1963 and 2013 as the National Agricultural Centre, is a business park located south-west of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. It is home to the Stoneleigh conference and exhibition centre. History ...

, 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).

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.

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 YFCs are grouped into 51

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

s based mainly on

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

boundaries. These are grouped further into six

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

al areas in

and together form the NFYFC. The Young Farmers' Clubs organisation involves people who live, work, or have an interest in the

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...

who join together to form an "open" Young Farmers' Club, where they can pursue their interests through a self-directed programme of activities encompassing

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

volunteering Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group wikt:gratis, freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. O ...

the environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

; responsible for organising the County events and activities and administration of national activities. Federation areas: *

Eastern England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

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 Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

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

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

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

Individual clubs

A List of Young Farmers' Clubs (alphabetically ordered by club name)
Crook Young Farmers Club - Cumbria

Great Dunmow Young Farmers Club - Essex

Leek Young Farmers Club - Staffordshire

Leighton Buzzard Young Farmers Club - Bedfordshire

Maendy - Glamorgan

Northallerton Young Farmers Club - Cledales District - Yorkshire
*
Welsh Newton - Herefordshire

Worth 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

History

1930s

1940s and 1950s

1960s and 1970s

1980s and 1990s

2000s

Structure

County

National

See also

References

External links

National

County

Individual clubs