Inspiring future leaders of Northern Ireland

The Cultivating Young Leaders programme, in association with The Thomas Henry Foundation, ran for its third year and seen 16 members aged between 18 and 30 participate. This exciting and unique leadership programme is designed to empower and educate YFCU members, and is aimed at helping prepare them with farm succession, career development and daily life.

The Cultivating Young Leaders programme was led by Heather Wildman. Heather has a comprehensive network of industry contacts, from political to grassroots level and has a reputation for helping individuals to collaborate with others to achieve stronger impressions and long lasting results. Members recalled she made the course fun and engaging.

The first appointment for the members was an overnight stay at Walsh’s Hotel, Maghera with guest speakers leading the session, they were Peter Brown (Solicitor at Martin King French & Ingram LLP), Michael Barnett (Chartered Accountant at McAleer Jackson) and YFCU Past President Martyn Blair. This was followed by a visit to Moycraig YFC in February 2026 to take part in a team building exercise which finished with a live drama performance. A trip was planned to Caledon Estate and Gilfresh Produce on Saturday 28th March 2026, where members heard from Chris Gill at Caledon Estate and William Gilpin from Gilfresh Produce, who gave a  great insight into running an agricultural business, and the journeys taken to reach their current positions as Farm Manager and Managing Director. The final session of the programme was held at the Silverbrich Hotel on Friday 24th April 2026 ahead of the YFCU AGM. Participants were joined on the day by Derek Lough (YFCU CEO), Richard Beattie (YFCU President) and Trevor Alcorn (Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trustee).

The programme will run again for 2026 / 2027, and details will be available at a later stage.