The 5 Nations Conference 2025

Last month, Group 1 Board Member Fiona O Leary attended the 5 Nations Conference entitled ‘Diversification, Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ hosted by the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC.) Here are Fiona’s reflections on this year’s conference:

Members from the Scottish, English, Welsh and Northern Irish Young Farmer Clubs, as well as Macra, attended the four day event. The conference included a presentation from the Farm Safety Foundation Yellow Wellies, as well as a mock Auction by Leighton Hall, a 24 year old member of NFYFC who started his own business at 19.

We also had a trip to Agritech where we discovered how potato starch can be made into a more environmental plastic that will biodegrade in three months. We also learnt about a machine that harvests broccoli and can take more of the product, which means broccoli could be added to burgers without affecting the taste.  

We then took a trip to Drayton Farm, where a drop slide and soft play area has been added to diversify the farm. Richard the farmer demonstrated how being open to new ideas can make farming more viable. He is delighted to show school children around his farm, which included every animal you could think of, including dinosaurs in the pumpkin picking patch (!), and space for an anaerobic digestion plant.

We also headed over to Kuhn where we learnt about recent innovation in farm equipment. We finished this night with a trip to the races with RABI, a charity which helps rural communities. James Nixey, Chairman of NFYFC, bought a horse in the final race making £145, while I had to put a pound on every horse in the race to win £3… but as it was all for charity, it was all for fun!

Saturday started as action-packed as Friday. We began the day with me sharing information on Rural Youth Europe and encouraging the attendees to join RYE events and activities. Luckly there were many members in the room who had previously attended RYE events and were able to echo my message and encourage members to attend.

Then we loaded up and headed to Dalton's Farm. Here they have a self-service honesty shop full of local produce and most importantly their delicious ice cream. We were transported by trailer to the top of the farm where you could see for miles around and then we walked 5km through the farm stopping to hear about the cows and turkeys on route.

Next we travelled to the JCB farm which is home to stocking pigs, chickens, sheep, cows and deer. They also have an abattoiremploying 50  people. At night we enjoyed time to showcase food and talent from our different nations, with my personal favourite being poems about topics AI generated to sound like they were written by Robert Byrnes!

Bonding games like the cereal box game and lots of dancing, chatting and social beverages meant that the 5 nations conference worked to share ideas and information, whilst also creating a bond between the organisations who can see a commonality in the work we do and the goals we wish to achieve.