29 Oct 2026
Rural young people across England and Wales celebrated the benefits of belonging to the UK’s largest rural youth organisation, The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC), in October.
National Young Farmers’ Week (5-9 October) is NFYFC’s annual awareness campaign, highlighting how Young Farmers’ Clubs help rural young people develop skills, make friends and feel part of their local communities.
This year’s theme focused on ‘belonging’ and shared stories from members who had benefited from their time in YFC, including Charlotte Kingham, the Head Butcher at Hops & Chops, part of The Farmer’s Dog, one of the most talked about pubs in the country.
Charlotte is a member of Winchcombe YFC in Gloucestershire and said YFC had given her a “sense of community and belonging.”
“Farming is a lonely place so when you have Young Farmers to go to once a week, it can change someone’s life,” said Charlotte.
“There’s so many skills that are transferrable and so many things I have done through YFC that genuinely I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t through being part of a Young Farmers’ Club.”
As part of this year’s campaign, all 560 Young Farmers’ Clubs were challenged with creating scarecrow scenes in their local communities that represented the theme of belonging.
The scarecrow displays are being judged by farmer and television presenter Dave Nicholson from Cannon Hall Farm. They were designed to reflect the spirit of YFC and demonstrate how clubs belong within their rural communities through acts of kindness, volunteering and the support they provide to young people.
During the week, NFYFC also launched its new AGRI Ambition paper: Proud to Farm, which sets out a vision for the future of farming. Alongside calls for improved access to finance and more training opportunities, there was also an appeal for farmworkers to be granted key worker status to improve their access to rural housing.
Throughout National Young Farmers’ Week, clubs, members and partner organisations shared photographs, videos and stories on social media to celebrate.
The annual celebration aims to raise awareness of the important role Young Farmers’ Clubs play in rural communities and the opportunities they provide for young people.
Membership offers opportunities to improve skills through a national programme of competitions, training, travel experiences and agricultural activities.
Our 560 youth-led and volunteer-run clubs are present in hundreds of villages, often meeting in the village hall. That makes them an ideal partner for councils and rural service providers working on isolation, wellbeing and keeping young people in rural areas.
Rural Services Network members can work with their local YFC by:
- Inviting clubs into community projects such as village litter picks, scarecrow trails and events for older residents.
- Involving members in local consultations so rural young people’s views shape services.
- Signposting young people aged 10–28 to their nearest club, including those not from farming families.
- Offering village halls or community spaces for meetings and new members’ nights.
