A land mobility service that aims to deliver long-terms leases, partnerships or shared farming arrangements between young farmers and older landowners with no obvious succession plans is currently being organised by the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU).

The plans for the service were announced in Belfast yesterday by YFCU president Roberta Simmons during the launch of the organisation’s strategic plan for 2015 to 2018.

Listen to the full interview with Roberta Simmons in the podcast below:

Simmons said that the first stage of the initiative will begin next week when a research company will be selected to carry out telephone questionnaires on a sample of farmers aged over 50 from across all farming sectors. The research will focus on the farmer’s succession plans and will aim to find out if there is adequate demand for a land mobility service in Northern Ireland.

Results from the survey should be known by the end of the year and if there is interest in the service, which the YFCU seems confident there will be, a co-ordinator will be appointed by the end of February 2016 to begin delivering the service at some point in the spring.

The working relationships between both farmers will be formally laid out in a legal document, with an accountant being involved in organising the financial arrangements, which will be undertaken by the YFCU.

The three-year project, which will be reviewed after one year, is in collaboration with the Ulster Farmers’ Union. The YFCU is currently seeking several minor partners to come on board.

The service is based on a similar initiative organised in the Republic by Macra Na Feirme. Simmons said: “To say there is a need for the service is an understatement, given the success of the pilot schemes that have already been launched in the Republic of Ireland.”

Education

Also in the strategic plan was delivering educational courses for YFCU members following accreditation from several organisations such as LANTRA and British Wool. Sheep shearing, tractor handling and PA1 and PA2 spraying courses are on the list of courses.

Simmons said that CAFRE-organised spraying courses have been difficult to get on recently due to large numbers of applicants and the YFCU would allow flexibility in time and location for teaching and assessment.

“We are building employability in the portfolio of our members with a lot of our competitions and courses now accrediting. An increasing proportion of our members feel that education is the most important thing that we offer,” Simmons said.

As a lobbying organisation, the YFCU will continue to work on certain matters, such as the proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act by the Department of Environment. The bill is currently on hold, but the YFCU has been pushing for a relaxation to the terms of a graduation period after passing the driving test. This involves proposed times at night when no passengers are allowed in the car with a restricted driver.

YFCU chief executive Michael Reid said that membership of the organisation had grown by 2% to 5% annually for the last five years and was now at 2,900. He said that the activity of local clubs had also increased and the upcoming initiatives of the YFCU would continue to raise awareness of the organisation among farmers.