Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster
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The Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) was founded in 1929 by W.S. Armour in Limavady,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Since its creation, YFCU has grown into an association of 52 local self-governing and youth-led clubs, with a headquarters in Belfast. The association is strategically managed by a peer-elected Board of Directors who serve as the Executive Committee. YFCU is for young people aged 12 to 30 years. The association is strictly non-political and non-sectarian and is open to anyone, no matter of his or her ethnic background, religion or profession. There is no requirement to be a farmer or come from a farming background to join – the only requirement for membership is an interest in rural life.


History

William Rankin, BAgr, put it accurately in a series of articles he contributed to ''The Ulster Young Farmer'' about the early days of the movement when he wrote: :"It required courage, vision, inspiration and absolute belief in one's own convictions to attempt anything like creating an organisation for young farmers in those days, and Northern Ireland was fortunate that such a man was found in the person of W.S. Armour."


W.S. Armour

William Staveley Armour was a North Antrim man, born in the town of Ballymoney in 1883, the eldest son of the illustrious Rev. J.B. Armour, a man known throughout Ulster for his leadership of the local farmers in the Tenant Right Campaign of the 1870s. Through the contacts which his father had with the farming world, he came to appreciate and understand farmers' difficulties, and he had also first hand experience of a farm, for as a boy he spent much of his free time on his grandfather's farm at Lisboy, Kilraughts. In 1903 he went up to Oxford on a scholarship to Jesus College. There he had a distinguished academic career and gained renown as a debater, being elected President of the Union in 1907, a much coveted position which is supposed to open the way to a Westminster seat and early elevation to cabinet rank. That was not to be W.S. Armour's path. He gained his law degree, went on to be a member of the
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and became a Barrister-at-law, but, while still pursuing his law studies, he chose for the moment to enter the sphere of education and sailed for India in 1910. At first he was a headmaster and later an inspector of schools, but when the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began in 1914 he was given special responsibility for war publicity at Allahabad, eventually becoming editor of the '' United Provinces War Journal''. He also published a short account of the war, which sold half a million copies in India, and wrote a number of school textbooks. For his services he was honoured by H.M. King George V with the MBE. After his return to London in 1922, Armour received word that his father was very ill. What happened next he recorded in his book, ''Facing The Irish Question:'' :"I went home for six weeks, and on the way to London via Belfast the idea came to me that in the circumstances I should stay there. Without any premeditation, I went straight to the proprietor of ''
The Northern Whig The Northern Whig is a bar housed in a historical building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is in the Cathedral Quarter, just to the north of the Belfast City Centre. At various times during its history it has been a gentleman's club and a new ...
'' and asked whether there was any position on his paper." He obtained the position of reporter, but after six weeks was elevated to become 'Writer of Special Articles' and in 1928 took over the editorship. ''The Northern Whig'' was then one of the three big daily newspapers published in Belfast and Armour brought to it his many talents and rich experience. Even as editor, special articles remained his penchant and under the initials 'WA' he wrote on subjects ranging from political controversy, to all sorts of educational matters and accounts of people and places from his world travels, to investigation of social problems in Northern Ireland and suggestions for their improvement. It was while pursuing this latter theme that he wrote the article which began the Young Farmers' Movement in Ulster. As usual he had researched his article thoroughly and had been in contact with the YFC Movement in England. It had already attracted membership of over two thousand, with ninety-four clubs in existence in various parts of the country.


Structuring Young Farmers' Clubs

W.S. Armour said it was essential to hold a public meeting to test local opinion and especially to invite parents and teachers to attend. If opinion was favourable then the choice of an enthusiastic and responsible person to act as Club Leader was vital. He felt clubs should be open to all young people under the age of twenty and he favoured the idea, used in England, that each member should be encouraged to either own livestock or to interest him or herself in a garden or allotment. Members should meet regularly to compare notes, discuss costs and hear talks from experts. He noted that in England these meetings had gradually developed into a social centre for the young people of the village and hoped the same would be true of Ulster. He said one of the most promising features of the YFC movement was that it provided a practical and popular starting point from which other activities for the benefit of the young people could be developed.


Membership

YFCU is open to anyone aged between 12 and 30 years old. The organisation currently has c.2600 members spread across the 60 member clubs, the largest of which is Spa, Castlewellan. Current member clubs: YFCU promotes four key areas to its membership: *Achievement :Learn new skills and realise one's full potential. *Friendship :YFCU encourages its members to take advantage of the opportunities to meet and make new friends. These can be other members of one's club, members from other clubs and members from their sister organisations throughout the world. *Fun :To enjoy a wide range of social and travel opportunities exclusively available to members. *Participation :Working together as a team to do what one wants to do, and achieve the goals set by the local clubs.


Activities and events

The commitment, skills and energy of members who take on positions of responsibility at club, county and central levels continue to be the source of the YFCU's strength and success. Combined with the youth led nature of the Association at all levels, a wide range of activities and events, relevant to the needs and interests of rural young people, is organised every year. Throughout the year staff and members are key to delivering and participating in the annual programme of centrally organised competitions and activities. Encouragingly there has continued to be a year on year increase in competitor numbers. The YFCU has been represented by a number of members at events and conferences held by the Association's sister organisations in Scotland, Wales, England and the Republic of Ireland. YFCU currently operates 33 competitions and events that members are encouraged to enter. By entering events YFCU members earn proficiencies points. The better the member does in the competition, the higher the proficiency points awarded.


''Rural Dispatch'' magazine

Originally established as ''The Ulster Young Farmer'' in 1946, the first editor was A. S. George Loxton. In his first edition editorial he hoped the new magazine would become "the most interesting and instructive" of the many then in circulation in the Province. Loxton retired in March 1948 and was succeeded b Arthur McAlister, who used his considerable literary ability to good effect as editor for the next sixteen years. He introduced many new features and widened the scope of the magazine to include general, as well as agricultural interest. In May 1964 the magazine changed format to keep pace with modern developments in printing. Michael Fieldhouse, the first Public Relations Officer of the YFCU, became editor in July 1964, and in September 1965 Dulcie Proctor succeeded him. She remained editor until the publication ceased in 1971. In 2004 the magazine was revived under the new moniker ''Rural Dispatch''. ''Rural Dispatch'' is the official magazine of the Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster. It is edited in-house at the Belfast Headquarters. The magazine, which is published three times a year, has a circulation of 2,500. Its main aim is to showcase the events and activities that YFCU organises, and to inform the membership of news from other clubs and the Northern Ireland
agricultural industry Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
as a whole. It is published in association with United Dairy Farmers.


Sister organisations

Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster has many sister organisations not only throughout the UK and Ireland, but throughout the world. *
Macra na Feirme Macra na Feirme (; officially meaning "Stalwarts of the land") is an Irish voluntary rural youth organisation. The organisation provides a social outlet for members in sport, travel, public speaking, performing arts, community involvement and agr ...
(Ireland) *
Ulster Farmers Union The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) is a member organisation/industry association for farmers in Northern Ireland. The UFU was formed in 1918 and currently claims over 12,500 members. Presidency Previous Presidents of the UFU included Sir Basil Broo ...
(Ulster) * National Federation of Young Farmers (England) * Scottish Association of Young Farmers Club (Scotland) * New Zealand Young Farmers


References

{{Authority control Agriculture in Northern Ireland Farmers' organizations 1929 establishments in Northern Ireland Youth organizations established in 1929 Agricultural organisations based in the United Kingdom