Father of three Graham Young of Greenhurst Farm in Samlesbury near Blackburn is the NFU’s new Lancashire county chairman – a position he’ll hold for the next two years.
Graham, 42, milks 150 Holstein Friesian cows on a robotic milking system and sells his milk to the Arla Foods Milk Partnership on a Tesco contract. He also rears beef cattle, selling the meat from his Aberdeen Angus cross heifers direct from the farm. Beef from his Belgian Blue and Friesian bull calves is sold finished to Dunbia and Gisburn and Brock auction marts.
He farms 300 acres at Greenhurst Farm in partnership with his wife Janet. The couple have three girls – Abigail (19), Imogen (17) and Melanie (13). Graham’s mother and father-in-law farmed at Greenhurst for 40 years before Graham and Janet took over. Graham started work there back in 1988 and the couple moved into the farmhouse in 1997.
Wilpshire NFU branch meetings with his father-in-law, John Wallbank, were Graham’s first encounter with the political lobbying power of the NFU back in the mid nineties. A constant supporter of the organisation, Graham was invited to join the NFU North West Dairy Board in 2004 and continues to be an active board member. One of his big passions is teaching children about the importance of the food they eat and where it’s produced. Back in November 2010 he visited Queen’s Drive Primary School in Fulwood, Preston and Royles Brook Primary School in Thornton Cleveleys where he talked to the pupils about how his dairy farm works.
"I would like to see more farmers communicating with our young people because they are the next generation of shoppers," said Graham who is also the Blackburn district branch chairman for Arla and current President of Samlesbury Young Farmers Club.
"Better communication with our customers and amongst ourselves as farmers is something I’ll strive to achieve as NFU Lancashire County Chairman. If any NFU members have any problems or queries then I’d like to hear from them and promise I’ll do my utmost to find a suitable solution or response."
