Wales YFC News

As we celebrate our 90th anniversary in 2026, it was a real honour for Wales YFC to be recognised by the Farm Safety Foundation as one of this year’s Farm Safety Heroes.

To be recognised alongside the thousands of young people who make up Wales YFC is something we are incredibly proud of. For 90 years, our members have played an important role in supporting rural communities across Wales, and we are delighted that the Farm Safety Foundation has recognised the contribution our members continue to make to creating safer, healthier and more supportive farming communities.

Thank you to the Farm Safety Foundation for this fantastic recognition.

Farm safety is everyone’s responsibility

Farm safety has always been an important part of what we do at Wales YFC, and we are proud of the work our members and clubs are doing to raise awareness and share important safety messages.

From running our own farm safety competitions to taking part in training such as the Yellow Wellies Farm Safe Curve module, our members are continually developing their knowledge and understanding of the risks faced on farms.

We have also been proud to work with the Welsh Farm Safety Partnership on initiatives such as the interactive tabletop farm safety escape room game, giving our members an engaging and practical way to think about farm safety.

Alongside this, we continue to promote key safety messages, including quad bike safety, while recognising that looking after ourselves and each other is just as important as looking after our machinery and livestock.

Looking after our mental health

For us, farm safety goes hand in hand with wellbeing.

The agricultural industry can be challenging, and creating opportunities for young people to talk openly about mental health and support one another is incredibly important.

Our members demonstrated this beautifully at this year’s NFYFC National Entertainment Feast Final, held for the first time on Welsh soil at Theatre Hafren. Both Erwood YFC and Dyffryn Tanat YFC delivered powerful and thought-provoking performances centred around mental health, taking first and second place respectively.

We are also proud to recognise the importance of wellbeing through our annual Agri Awards, which include a dedicated Mental Health Champion Award.

These initiatives show just how much our members care about the people around them – and that is something we are incredibly proud of.

Learning skills that could save a life

This year has also seen the launch of an exciting new competition in partnership with Achub Bywyd Cymru / Save a Life Wales, encouraging YFC clubs to learn and share CPR skills.

The competition gave clubs the opportunity to win a defibrillator, but more importantly, it helped to equip our members with potentially lifesaving skills that they can take back to their clubs, farms, families and communities.

90 years – and looking to the future

Our 90th anniversary has given us plenty of opportunities to celebrate our past, but it has also given us the chance to think about the future.

From our special 90th anniversary dinner ahead of the Royal Welsh Show to celebrating throughout Farm Safety Week, it has been a brilliant year to reflect on everything Wales YFC and our members have achieved over the last nine decades.

Being recognised as Farm Safety Heroes by the Farm Safety Foundation is particularly meaningful because it highlights something that sits at the heart of YFC – looking out for each other.

Farm safety isn’t just about rules, training or equipment. It is about having conversations, sharing experiences, learning from one another and having the confidence to speak up when something doesn’t feel right.

Our members are the future of agriculture in Wales, and we believe they have a vital role to play in creating a culture where everyone looks out for one another.

So, from all of us at Wales YFC, thank you to the Farm Safety Foundation for recognising our members as Farm Safety Heroes during our 90th anniversary year.

We are incredibly proud of our members and the contribution they make to rural Wales every day.

Here’s to 90 years of Wales YFC – and to many more years of supporting, learning from and looking out for one another.