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Riseholme Young Farmers
Make History
Posted 14 December 2009
Riseholme Young Farmers are taking off in a big way and growing their membership at an astonishing rate.
The Young Farmers Club (YFC) has been around for many years, but Riseholme’s club is only 5 years old, and was last year threatened with closure due to a lack of members. This year, however, with a new Chairman and President, the club’s membership has almost quadrupled in size.
The YFC is an organisation for young people aged 10-26, run by its members. With 17 clubs across Lincolnshire, the County Office is based at Riseholme Park. Riseholme YFC was set up to support members of other Young Farmers clubs who are studying at Riseholme and still want to be involved.
Daniel Allwood (17) took over the role of chairman in September, and has been very proactive in talking to students studying and living at Riseholme, to get them involved. Dan is currently on the National Diploma in Agriculture at Riseholme College and hopes to progress on the degree course at Riseholme when he finishes.
Dan's family has long been involved with the Club, with both his dad and uncle having been Chairman in the past. He said, "I got into it through my family, but all the different members bring their own interests and we meet up with other clubs in the area quite often, so there is a real mix of people."
Dan says, "We have around 40 members at the moment but are really looking for people in the area to come and join us. Although we're called Young Farmers, you don't have to be a farmer to join - it's more of an opportunity for young people to get together."
Riseholme YFC meets every Monday evening at Riseholme Old Hall, and offers a variety of activities for young people, from sporting competitions such as 5-aside football, to social outings such as bowling and ice-skating, to farming-related talks and visits, and Dan says, “We try to have an outing every other week, and ask members what they want to do; it’s their club.
Sam Spridgen (16), also studying the National Diploma in Agriculture, says, “I enjoy the variety of activities which you can do. It’s really good fun.”
Membership also offers young people the opportunity to learn new skills, such as public speaking, stock judging and general business skills, and provides them with opportunities to travel abroad through exchange programmes. The big event on the YFC calendar is the annual County Rally in May with over 70 competitions.
Steve Watson, President of Riseholme YFC, supports the officers in the smooth running of the club, giving them pointers on how to structure meetings and plan events. A former young farmer himself, Steve says, "Young Farmers provides enrichment to many young people, including our own students. The organisation attracts not just farmers' sons, but a wide range of individuals who want to make new friends, get involved in exciting activities, and generally have fun."
The club is organising a ball on March 13th at Caenby Corner, with an auction to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation.
There is no fee to join but anyone who chooses to pay a £25 subscription for the year will receive discounts on the cost of events. For more information call Dan on 07824 643118
County Organiser: Angela Bruntlett
www.lincsyfc.org.uk
abruntlett@lincoln.ac.uk
01522 568989
Sowing the Seeds of
Success
Posted 7 December 2009
Young people training in land-based technology at Riseholme College are reaping the rewards of the scholarship programme with LAMMA, the Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association.
LAMMA is working closely with staff at Riseholme College, the specialist land-based further education college of the University of Lincoln, to encourage young people into the diverse technological side of the agricultural sector.
As part of the gift agreement, now into its second year, scholarships from LAMMA are available to all young people starting the First Diploma in Land-based Technology. The financial support is worth £500 to each student, intended to fund specialist tools and equipment for use during study and beyond. Students also benefit from the vast knowledge of LAMMA’s members through talks and visits.
Students who completed the First Diploma last year have now either progressed onto the level 3 National Diploma in Land-based Technology, or have entered careers in the industry, with their newly learned skills which range from maintaining machinery to advising businesses on advances in the latest technology.
Craig Jackson, a student on the First Diploma in Land-based Technology, said,” Before I started here I wanted to be a car mechanic but then I heard about this course. I enjoy it because I would much rather be in a workshop than a classroom. When I finish I would like to get a job working with land-based machinery.”
LAMMA stages a show in Newark each winter to provide small farm machinery manufacturers in Lincolnshire with a ‘shop window’ for their products. Val Braybrooks, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Animal Sciences at the University of Lincoln, will be a judge at this year’s LAMMA show, which takes place at the Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground on 20th and 21st January.
For further information about courses and open days at Riseholme College, visit the Riseholme College stand at the LAMMA show: www.lammashow.co.uk
Growing Talent
Posted 7 December 2009
Agriculture is important to Lincolnshire, and over recent years the sector has been demanding more highly skilled staff. But attracting young people into careers in agriculture is still difficult. Riseholme College, in Lincoln, is working hard to overcome this barrier, to promote careers in agriculture to young people across Lincolnshire.
According to the sector skills council Lantra, within the East Midlands, the land-based industry’s workforce is dominated by older age groups, and men which account for 69% (compared to 54% for other sectors). With 10% of the agricultural workforce set to retire within the next 10 years, Lantra argues that the sector needs to raise its profile in order to attract young people and non-traditional groups to careers in agriculture.
Riseholme College runs a range of courses in agriculture and land-based technology, from foundation level up to a BSc in Agriculture and Environmental Management
Head of Further Education at Riseholme College, Bill Meredith said: “Farming does not typically attract people from non-farming backgrounds, and in the past the industry has not been particularly well served by careers advisers, who have tended to have an outdated view of the industry. Modern farming is a skilled operation that requires technical proficiency, business acumen and environmental awareness. Our challenge is to attract more people into the sector at a younger age, so we can train them up with the relevant skills and provide them with robust careers information. We are also working hard to redress the gender balance in agriculture and attract more women into the sector.”
Riseholme College is planning several events this year to promote careers in agriculture, including its annual stock skills competition, and a special taster day to show women the benefits of a land-based career, which will involve practical demonstrations and guest lectures from female role models already working in the industry.
For further information, or to get involved in these events, contact Michelle Mortimer:
mmortimer@lincoln.ac.uk
+44 (0)1522 895441
University SMART Farm on
Trial
Posted 27 July 2009
Visitors to the University of Lincoln’s Lodge Farm in Nettleham were given an insight into the latest thinking on crop management techniques.
Approximately 100 people working
in agriculture visited
the ‘SMART Farm’ open day earlier this month to listen to
experts talk about the husbandry requirements of
wheat and oilseed
rape crops, new spray application technology, and
slug management to help them prepare for the coming Autumn.
The day was coordinated by
Masstock Arable Ltd., which
has approximately 20 ‘SMART Farms’ across
the country, with their East Midlands farm located at the
University of Lincoln’s
Lodge Farm in
Nettleham. These working farms reflect
regional soil types and
farming systems, and
provide a venue
for growers
to discuss the benefits
of new crop management techniques.
Masstock
has a longstanding relationship with the University
of Lincoln,
and provides training for both staff and
students at the
University’s Riseholme
campus. Recently,
University agricultural staff were
given training by Jeremy
Nicholson,
who manages the Lincoln farm.
Jeremy showed staff comparisons between the resistance of a wide range of wheat varieties to fungal disease with and without fungicide treatment. Differences in yellow rust resistance are particularly marked this year with some varieties succumbing to a new race of the disease. Staff also saw a demonstration of the different cultivation and establishment techniques across a range of oilseed rape varieties. Marked differences in plant structure and crop density are evident, particularly between hybrid and conventionally bred types.