AN ambitious young farmer from the Herefordshire border has been named as one of two NFU Cymru representatives on the NFU’s new student and young farmer ambassadors’ 2024 cohort.

Ben Chilman and Naomi Williams-Roberts fought off a number of quality candidates to gain a position on the industry’s coveted programme which will see them attend events, such as going to parliament, learning more about the industry from peers and undertake training days.

Mr Chilman, 23, is a full-time poultry farmer based on the family’s mixed farm in Presteigne on the Wales/England border. He is a member of Presteigne YFC, a podcaster and has already championed agriculture on a range of topics in a number of broadcast interviews.

He won Agriculture Student of the Year at the Farmers Weekly Awards in October 2022 and established the Ewe Turn Podcast with friends Ted Davies and Nick Rogers, all of whom have farming ties to the Presteigne area, in 2021.

Williams-Roberts, 30, established her farm in Usk in 2018 with her partner and specialises in marketing and improving breeds on her farm.

With a forthcoming UK General Election on the horizon and an ongoing need to keep food and farming front of mind amid a busy political and media agenda, the student and young farmer ambassadors will play a vital role in telling the story and value of British farming to the public.

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NFU president Aled Jones said: “I’d like to offer my congratulations for being selected for the NFU’s student & young farmer ambassador programme.

“It is absolutely fantastic to have such vibrant and enthusiastic people wanting to work with the NFU and NFU Cymru to help us tell our positive farming story to the public, opinion formers and politicians, locally and nationally.

“Farming is undergoing huge change, from significant changes in farm policy and support, inflationary costs of production impacting farm businesses, to the impacts of climate change and more regular adverse weather events, so it’s arguably never been a more important time to be able to tell the positive story of agriculture and showcase the massive show of support we are so fortunate to have from the public.

“It is remarkable to see how much they have already achieved despite their tender years. I can’t wait to see what impact they have in the coming year.”