In this latest blog post, Tom Willis explains why you should consider applying for the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Goodall Agri-Development Pathway.
The Goodall Agri-Development Pathway is a fully-funded training programme to support the development of farming’s next generation.
The Pathway has eight modules delivered in a mixture of face to face and online environments, and they feature farm visits, conferences and expert speakers.
Anyone aged between 23 and 40 who work in farming and allied industries in the North of England can apply.
The deadline for applications for our 2025 intake is 2nd December 2024.
Tom’s story
Tom Willis is one of our first group of Goodall Agri Development Pathfinders.
Our farm near Northallerton is a typical modern farm with a mixture of land owned, rented and contract farming for others.
There are five of us in the business doing the work and we hire someone else in.
We’re predominantly producing cereals, 150 acres of potatoes, oilseed rape and run 400 ewes.
A year ago, when I was fairly new back to the farm from a prior career, I was looking for professional development opportunities, having learnt the value of training in my previous line of work as a chartered surveyor and land agent.
I signed up to the Future Farmers of Yorkshire newsletters – a network of progressive farming people supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society – and I saw a news item promoting the Society’s Goodall Agri-Development Pathway.
I thought, ‘this is going to suit me down to the ground’.
The Pathway is a fully-funded training programme to help younger people aged 23-40 develop their skills and experience, improve their performance and prepare for enhanced responsibilities in their careers.
It’s an annual programme with eight modules to complete, including farm visits, conferences and some overnight stays.
As a farmer you can be guilty of looking at something like this and thinking ‘well, that’s 15 or 16 days off the farm’ but I think you need to look at it in a different way.
Every module has been worthwhile, and I would absolutely recommend the Pathway to others who are looking for extra support to really push themselves forwards in their career.
When all of us on the Goodall Pathway met up for the first time at the Great Yorkshire Showground, it felt quite quickly that we all had so much in common.
After the first module and a bit of socializing, I quickly saw the benefits of being part of a network of likeminded people.
We have built friendships and got to know about each other’s situations.
There are a lot of different circumstances in the group, but we can all relate to each other.
There is a lot of training available to farmers but it’s rare to see something such as the Goodall programme that is long-term and covers so many topics.
We have looked at new and familiar topics from new angles and it’s made me more organised in pushing things forward on the farm.
It has emboldened my decision making and that’s come from the things I have learned on the modules, hearing what the other Pathfinders are up to and listening to the programme’s various speakers.
I had always wanted to be involved in the farm but from an early age, but dad advised me and my brothers to try something else, not just farming.
It was as I reached my late 20s that I realized I wanted to get back on farm at some point.
I’ve not looked back since with anything other than it was the right decision and taking part in the Goodall Agri-Development Pathway is really helping me to drive forward in my career.
Apply now for our 2025 Goodall Agri-Development Pathway
There are another 12 places available on the Goodall Agri-Development Pathway in 2025.
Applicants are interviewed by a selection panel before being informed if their application is successful. These interviews will take place in December 2024.
Whilst places are fully-funded, a £250 deposit refundable upon completion of the Pathway is required to secure a place if your application is approved. The first module of the 2025 round will be in March 2025.
