In this blog post, Future Farmers of Yorkshire chairman Alastair Trickett writes about an exciting new vacancy on the group’s management board.
I always enjoy these opportunities to write down my thoughts. It gives me a chance to step off the relentless treadmill and consider what’s going on outside our farm gates. It also is an opportunity to evangelise the work of the Future Farmers of Yorkshire.
For example, did you know that 501 people tuned into our virtual Breakfast Meeting for the Great Yorkshire Show? And there were no bacon sandwiches on offer.
This time I am writing a few words to advertise the recent vacancy of Vice Chairman of our management board. This role lasts three years and is responsible for co-ordinating the management board and deputising to the Chairman. You would be taking on a key role in our organisation at a crucial time for the industry.
The pressures of Brexit planning, Covid-19 and the atrocious seasonal weather is putting a lot of strain on farming and rural businesses. The pressure is felt across the sector and we are all looking to each other for support.
Fortunately, Yorkshire has one of the most diverse agri-food and drink sectors in the country, generating roughly £2.5 billion in revenue and employing 23,000 people. It is in times of challenge that our region can pull together, learn from and support each other so that we can ride out these turbulent times.
Future Farmers achieves national recognition for engaging with its 1,000 plus members to collectively make Yorkshire’s farming and rural industries the envy of the country.
Coming up we have a Leadership Training Workshop run by trainers used to coaching executive teams of blue-chip companies as well as a Financial Management Course. Our autumn debate will be on developing an entrepreneurial mindset to manage your farm through change, where we’ll be hearing from a plant-breeding company that now produces NHS facemasks and a university business professor who founded the Fairtrade movement, amongst others.
In amongst this we are driving forward our engagement with the next generation, from primary schools to university students. We’re working with organisations to understand the Zero Carbon future, and not shying away from difficult but important discussions around (the lack of) diversity in agriculture.
Which nicely brings me back to inviting you to apply for the opportunity to join our management board as Vice Chair.
Now more than ever we are looking for someone who is passionate about the farming industry, regardless of your background. You may be a farmer, but you may be a school teacher, a restauranteur, a scientist, an entrepreneur, a lawyer.
If we are to continue to grow as an industry, to meet the challenges of the future, to stay current and relevant to the next generation, to improve the ecological capital of our region whilst feeding more people, we must open our minds and look far and wide for inspiration, guidance and skills.
When we emerge from this challenging period of change, Yorkshire farmers will continue to be the leaders of our industry. To do this, we need the best on our board. We look forward to hearing from you, email futurefarmers@yas.co.uk
- Future Farmers of Yorkshire was launched in 2010 to bring together like-minded farmers, vets and industry professionals. Organising a programme of debates, socials, workshops, farm walks and industry visits for our 1000 members, it is supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
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