YFCU members prepare for Agri Study Trip

Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster members are preparing to leave for their annual Agri Study Trip which is sponsored by Dunbia.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Nov 2016, 13:13 GMT
Updated 16th Nov 2016, 16:23 GMT
Robert McConaghy, Chair of the YFCU Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee; Jack Dobson, Dunbia; Roberta Simmons, YFCU President, William Allister, Procurement Manager for Dunbia and James Purcell, member of the YFCU Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee.Robert McConaghy, Chair of the YFCU Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee; Jack Dobson, Dunbia; Roberta Simmons, YFCU President, William Allister, Procurement Manager for Dunbia and James Purcell, member of the YFCU Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee.
Robert McConaghy, Chair of the YFCU Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee; Jack Dobson, Dunbia; Roberta Simmons, YFCU President, William Allister, Procurement Manager for Dunbia and James Purcell, member of the YFCU Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee.

The trip will incorporate visits to various farm enterprises around the Cumbria/Scottish Borders area and is a great way for members to learn about best practices, some of which they can adopt on their own farms.

The first visit of the trip will be to a farm enterprise of beef suckler cows, store cattle, dairy cows, breeding ewes, 32,000 free range laying hens and a 2,120 acre arable enterprise that is managed by Sion Williams, the 2016 Farmers Weekly Farm Manager of the Year finalist.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The YFCU members will then travel to Richard and John Geldard’s farm which is made up of 210ha of grassland, with 1,000 Lleyn ewes, 120 pedigree Charolais ewes, 130 suckler cows, a beef finishing enterprise and 39,000 free-range eggs. John is another award winning farmer and was presented with the 2007 Farmers Weekly Farmer of the Year award.

The YFCU members will also be travelling to the farm of Robert Craig, Farmer’s Weekly Dairy Farmer of the Year 2014 as well as visiting Crichton Royal Farm, Dumfries, a dairy research farm owned by the SRUC that is managed by Hugh McClymont who was the Farmers Weekly Dairy Farmer of the Year award winner in 2013. The final visit of the trip will be to Laggan Outdoors, which was originally a beef and sheep farm but diversified into an outdoor activity centre.

The Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster President Roberta Simmons, thanked Dunbia for their support saying: “YFCU is delighted to have Dunbia on board as our Agri Events partner. Through our partnership, we have been able to provide great opportunities for YFCU members and the study trip is a further event from which our members will benefit greatly.”

Jack Dobson, Dunbia Executive Officer, commented: “Dunbia is a firm believer in learning by seeing and we regularly host factory tours and live to dead events at our sites across the UK. Farm visits are also an important learning tool and as such Dunbia is delighted to sponsor the YFCU Agri Study trip. We hope the young farmers have an enjoyable and educational trip and look forward to hearing from them on their return.”

Related topics:YFCUUlsterCumbria