Charles Abel • Rural Youth
Rural youth focus
Keeping rural youth positive through the pandemic and beyond is vital. Club members consider some of the latest initiatives
Dear Editor, I WAS very interested to read your Spring Journal piece about a new Rural Youth Project, having myself been involved in rural youth development in one way or another for about 40 years. I was for many years from 1980 onwards in the non-executive management of the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (England & Wales) and was their President in 2000. I see the YFCs with their local, national and international involvements as an essential and natural well established organisation throughout the UK for bringing farming and non-farming rural young people together and motivating them in the ways of the countryside. Peter Jackson, Farmers Club Honorary Vice President
Rural youth projects In 1991, in conjunction with the NFYFC, I was one of the co-sponsors and the appeal director and a trustee of the Rural Youth Trust (now chaired by Farmers Club Committee member John Lee), whose task is to back good rural youth projects. On the back of my YFC experience and the strength of the Farmers Club Under 30s section, when I became Chairman of the Club in 1996 my first priority was to organise the Club’s highly
16 • The Farmers Club Harvest 2020
successful Rural Youth Conference at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire, which was attended by 120 young people. The Duke of Westminster flew in overnight from the US to give us an inspirational keynote address. Amongst other active achievers leading discussions were Julian Sayers (ex-NFYFC chairman), Jimmy McLean (RBS sponsors), John Lee (also ex-NFYFC Chairman and first English President of the Council of European Young Agriculturalists) and James Cross (Farmers Club Under 30s). Major contributions All of these have subsequently made and continue to make major contributions to rural life, as well as within the Farmers Club. The conference was fully reported in the Spring and Royal Show 1996 issues of the Club Journal (Nos 141 & 142) and is well worth a read on the whole subject of rural youth development. Of particular interest to me personally, through my long Shetland connection, is the case study of Jakob Eunson. I have known Jakob’s father, Ronnie, for very many years – a highly respected farmer with a major input into native breed Shetland sheep wool as well as native cattle – and have enjoyed hearing of Jakob’s growing and considerable recent successes.
