Richard Beattie YFCU at Balmoral Show 2025
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00:00This is Richard Beatty, President of the Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster.
00:04Richard we're here on the first day of Balmoral 2025 and I'm just speaking to you about the
00:10issues that are on the hearts and minds of young farmers across Northern Ireland.
00:13You've got a membership of three and a half thousand, is that right?
00:16Yes, three and a half thousand members across the province.
00:19Yes.
00:20That's a very strong, within the largest rural organisation in Northern Ireland.
00:24So you're telling me that two of the issues uppermost in young farmers' minds these days
00:29are coming out of a significant issue of rural isolation since COVID and also the inheritance
00:37tax issues that have been implemented by the Labour government.
00:41So if we could just talk to rural isolation, that has been a real issue, according to your
00:46members, but they're bouncing back?
00:49Yes.
00:50I think we're incredibly lucky the membership has bounced back well from COVID and since
00:54even before COVID it's increased significantly from that there.
00:58Young Farmers is the largest rural youth organisation.
01:01We offer a safe space and somewhere for young people to go to in rural areas.
01:07With that they have a membership from 12 to 30, so it's a great place to mentor older members,
01:12to help mentor younger members through the organisation.
01:16And we've been our structure with a club level county and then the whole way to province
01:21level Northern Ireland.
01:22So it offers young people a good opportunity along the way.
01:26And the tax issue, that's exercising the minds of your members who have got their eye
01:32on a career on the family farm, Richard?
01:34Yes.
01:35Well, thanks to everybody involved in farming, be it from the family farm through the whole
01:39agri-food industry.
01:40The changes in inheritance tax, it's been flagged as an issue from our membership and we did
01:44carry out surveys from that and over 90% of members seen it as a negative effect on their
01:49careers in agriculture, not just those inherent in family farms.
01:54It's been, as young farmers president and organisation, we have worked, we tried to work with government
02:00to try and lobby that they were recently given evidence in Westminster to sort of highlight
02:06the points from a young farmer's point of view and it's just really the concern.
02:10Are you seeing any sign of change coming down the line?
02:12The government seems to be quite resolute, don't they?
02:14They seem to be, but as we've learnt in the last week or 10 days, I think things might be
02:19changing slightly over in Westminster, so hopefully we have a government that's maybe more willing
02:25to listen to the views of the young people.
02:27So realistically, what would you be hoping for if there is some change coming down the
02:32pipeline?
02:33Well, consultation, first and foremost, we'd like to see the inheritance tax removed in
02:40terms of agricultural property relief.
02:42That was obviously the key aim for all members of the young farmers across the board, so hopefully
02:47they can come to us.
02:49Thank you!