Farming Connect’s recruitment campaign for the 2019 intake of Agri Academy candidates is open!

Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, officially launched Agri Academy 2019, at the Farmers’ Union of Wales annual farmhouse breakfast at Cardiff Bay on January 22.

The Agri Academy, now in its seventh year and with 200 alumni, brings together some of the most promising people making their way in the agricultural industry in Wales today.

Comprising three distinct elements, the Agri Academy’s Rural Leadership programme, a collaboration with the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, aims to develop and nurture a new generation of leaders. The Business and Innovation programme offers personal and business development to help meet the challenges of farming in the future, while the Junior Academy, run in partnership with Wales YFC, is targeted at youngsters aged 16-19 considering a career in the food and farming industries.

One of the alumni from the Agri Academy Junior Programme 2017 is Fflur Roberts.

Welsh speaker Fflur is currently in her final year of studies for her Level 3 Extended Diploma at the NPTC Group of Colleges’ Newtown School of Agriculture campus at Fronlas.

This ambitious young farmer, who is a former Caereinion High School pupil, was brought up on the family hill farm in Llangadfan. Determined to combine academic studies with practical work experience, when Fflur is not in college, she has a part time job at a local dairy, sheep and poultry enterprise and also enjoys helping out at home.

Fflur credits her Agri Academy experience with giving her the confidence to set her sights high for the future and says it has made her determined to continue in higher education, something she had not planned previously. She says that the programme highlighted the many opportunities available to young people wanting careers in agriculture today and hopes that her new-found sense of ambition, combined with determination and hard work, will help lead her to a rewarding, lucrative career.

Despite her youth, Fflur, 18, has already achieved some notable successes. At the Royal Welsh Winter Fair 2018 she was not only runner-up for Lantra’s Young Learner of the Year award, which she received from Lesley Griffiths, but she also won first prize and Supreme Champion in the Young Farmers Clubs Prime Hill Lamb Producer category, as well as second prize in the Carcass (Hill) category.

Fflur, a keen rugby player and active member of Llanfair Caereinion YFC which she has represented at both a local and county level, says that the Agri Academy has been a life-changing experience.

“The Agri Academy is condensed into just three study weekends or visits, but I could never have believed just how inspiring and rewarding the programme would prove, or how valuable the contacts I made would be.

“Before joining the Agri Academy, I was limited by my own lack of knowledge and had very modest aspirations for the future so I would urge anyone thinking of applying to grab this fantastic opportunity.”

Fflur’s plan for the next stage of learning is to attend university where she would like to study agri-food marketing. Alongside that, she is also set on a study visit to New Zealand to give her a different perspective on red meat production.

“I’ll take any chance that comes my way. I want to gain more experience and I’m eager to learn from others. I’m in the right mind set thanks to the Agri Academy.”

The application window for Agri Academy 2019 opened on January 22 and will close on March 31. Eligibility is open to business partners, immediate family members (spouses, sons and daughters) and employees (on PAYE) of Farming Connect registered businesses.

Farming Connect is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.