Thousands of young farmers head to Blackpool over the May Bank Holiday weekend (3rd to 5th May) to attend the DIY general meeting, which replaces the previous National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC) general meeting. I plan to.
Both formats of events have been a highlight of the YFC social calendar for more than 50 years. Previously held every two years between the North West and South West of England, in 2019 it was based in Blackpool under the umbrella of the DIY AGM, organized by the Young Farmers Community.
DIY AGM was founded by John Houseman, who comes from a mixed livestock farm in North Yorkshire. Mr. Hausman studied agriculture at Askham Bryan College near York before attending Harper Adams College.
See also: FG Live: New young farmer conference to be held in Blackpool
A keen member of the Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, he enjoys attending meetings and being involved with clubs in his hometown. He said: “I would encourage anyone to join their local club. This organization has been invaluable to me. I have learned different skills and met lifelong friends. ” he said.
After the NFYFC general meeting was canceled in 2018, he decided to revive it by creating an unofficial event on Facebook. It has grown over the years and this year, Farmers Guardian is hosting the 1st FG Live Conference on his second day (May 4th) featuring inspirational speakers and agricultural influencers. His program is packed with seminars.
The annual weekend usually falls on the bank holiday in early May. On this day, young farmers from England, Wales and Scotland come to Blackpool for what is called a 'lamb and post-calving holiday'. A break from the agricultural calendar.
“The main purpose is to continue the annual event where young farmers from all over the country can come together, enjoy the holidays, have fun and meet new people,” Hausman said.
“Working in agriculture confines people to fairly isolated positions, often with long hours and little time away from the farm. There are very few industries where you work with your family like farming. This is a pressure cooker. I think it's a nice break from living and working with the same people every day. ”
The Young Farmers Community's main focus is raising money for charity, and since 2019 the group has raised over £20,000. Mr Hausman said: “The funds were raised through ticket sales and customized polo shirts with personalized slogans. These significant donations will benefit the farming community, including British Air Ambulance and Mind. It was distributed to a variety of targeted charities, including local not-for-profit organizations such as Blackpool Royal National Lifeboat Society.”
In its first year it raised more than £7,500 for charity and since then it has raised £16,000 in donations over the past year. As the event grows, Houseman has the support of his two business partners, Alex Huckerby and Sam Hargreaves. “We work behind the scenes to put events together and everyone brings a different skill set to the table.
“This is not a non-profit organization as we make money by offering products, but most of it is reinvested into events,” he added.
“It takes a lot of effort to organize and costs a lot of money for things like entertainment, staging, lighting, insurance and promoting events. We are extremely grateful to our various agricultural sponsors, including Farmers Guardian. ”We believe we are doing a good job in organizing the DIY shareholder meeting. We have had success with our attendance numbers and have built those numbers over the last few years to reach the numbers we have today.
“People enjoy their weekends, so we’re planning to make the event bigger and better in 2024 and can’t wait to see everyone.”
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The FG Live Young Farmers Conference will be held at Winter Gardens, Blackpool on 4th May 2024. For the full agenda and free registration, visit farmersguardian.com/fglive-agm24.