Stephen Frankland is a first-generation farmer from Ingleton, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. He’ll be speaking at the Yorkshire Farming Conference where he hopes to inspire others in farming to pursue professional development opportunities.
As a first-generation farmer pursing my farming dream, it is a real honour to be asked to speak at the Yorkshire Farming Conference at the Great Yorkshire Showground on Wednesday 28 January.
I don’t have a lot of public speaking experience, but I do have a passion for this industry. To make farming stack up financially, I run a joinery business, employing two other staff. One day, I hope to farm full time.
I have already come a long way over the last decade. I started my farming career 10 years ago with my first 15 sheep and I’m now farming 150 sheep and five pedigree Charolais in Ingleton on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
When I take to the stage at the Yorkshire Farming Conference in Harrogate at the start of the new year, I’ll be talking about the importance of investing in personal development, and that’s because taking part in a Yorkshire Agricultural Society initiative has been hugely helpful for me.
I was a member of the first group of Pathfinders to take the Society’s Goodall Agri-Development Pathway in 2024. I had seen it advertised and thought it was just what I needed to give me the guidance to push my farm business to the next level.
It was a big step, meeting new people from totally different areas but it has really transformed me and made me realise what can be gained by stepping out of your comfort zone.
The Goodall Pathway has opened many doors to help me progress my business and really inspired me to try and help others where I can.
The application window is open to be part of the next round of the Goodall Pathway, until 1 December.
An annual programme with eight modules to complete, you get to visit farms and conferences, hear from expert speakers and enjoy an international study trip.
It’s fully-funded by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and open to anyone aged between 23 and 40 who works in farming and allied industries in the North of England. Have a look at the Society’s website – yas.co.uk – to find out more.
I’ll be sharing a little bit more of my own personal story, and how I’ve benefited from expanding my horizons, at the Yorkshire Farming Conference.
The session I’ll be speaking at is titled Mentorship & Momentum: Your Next Step in Personal Development and it will be a really useful talk to come to if you are interested in finding out more about some of the brilliant opportunities that are available to us in farming to support our development.
As well as the Goodall Pathway, it will cover Nuffield Farming Scholarships and mentorship schemes. If you are looking to take the next step in your farming career, like I was, this is a session that’s not to be missed.
The Conference is going to be a great place for everyone in farming to come together and share ideas and hopefully everyone leaves the event feeling stronger, united and better prepared for the road ahead, whatever that looks like for you.
Mentorship & Momentum: Your Next Step in Personal Development will take place between 11:45-12:45 and is listed in the Workshop 1 schedule
Tickets for the Yorkshire Farming Conference are available to purchase online in advance only and are priced £25 + VAT. To buy tickets, for more details and announcements about the conference line-up, visit yorkshirefarmingconference.co.uk
