National role for young Yorkshire farmer
A YOUNG farmer from Yorkshire has been elected as a senior officeholder at one of the UK’s largest youth organisations for the first time in 18 years.
Rachel Goldie, 25, from Danby Wiske near Northallerton, is the new vice chairman of The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs.
A member of Great Smeaton Young Farmers’ Club for 13 years, she said she was motivated to stand for the national position because she wanted the federation to reconnect with its grassroot membership at both individual club and county levels.
Last October, the Yorkshire Federation tabled a motion of no confidence in the national body’s management board. The move came over the national federation’s handling of the cancellation of its annual convention in Blackpool after anti-social behaviour marred last year’s event.
Ms Goldie, whose father Alan Goldie was the NFYFC’s chairman in 1996-97, said: “I want to make sure the members’ views get heard and that their points of view are getting across. I want to help build the bridges back up and get everyone working together as one big team.”
Ms Goldie has also been elected as vice chairman of the group’s personal development steering group which develops training and travel programmes for its 23,500 members.
In her new role, she will also be supporting newly elected national chairman Katie Hall from Gloucestershire and second vice chairman Dewi Parry from Wales to co-ordinate a campaign that will see all Young Farming Clubs plant a tree for each of their members this year.
The tree initiative has been set up in partnership with the Woodland Trust and was instigated to support the Government’s Year of Green Action and the #IWill4Nature campaign.
As well as working on her family’s dairy farm and forming part of the farm’s show team, Ms Goldie works in Boroughbridge as a support worker for people with learning disabilities.