45 Sadie Darke Interview by Kate Cotton
Young Farmers is not just a club for young farmers and is about much more than farming. Sadie Darke, chairman of Kings-
bridge Young Farmers, said: “It’s open to everyone from aged 10 to 26. Obviously we have a very agricultural based core but it’s actually open to everybody. “It’s not all about learning how
to hay bale. With the exception of livestock judging, most of the things we do are non-farming related. We run activities like public speaking, sports, and entertainment, including putting on pantos. “You could seriously not know the back end of a cow to the front to join the Young Farmers. Although a passion for the countryside would be good. Within Kingsbridge there’s a lot of Young Farmers with no connection to farming, just people living in a rural setting.” Kingsbridge Young Farmers is year and has around 40
in its 85th
members. It’s part of the South Dartmoor
Group, with Totnes, Newton Abbot and Tavistock. There are six Young Farmers collective groups across Devon. Sadie said: “Kingsbridge stage
group entertainments within the South Dartmoor group. This year it’s cabaret at Coombeshead Academy in Newton Abbot. And every three years we stage our group panto at the Palace Theatre in Paignton. “My favourite thing is public
speaking. I’m lucky to have got through to the national finals twice and won it last year with a team of five of us from Devon. “Each round, there’s a different
topic to debate. Last year was the first time Devon had won in nearly 30 years.”
get away with all their mates for socialising and meeting people from all over the country. “There was usually about 6,000
Young Farmers there, generating around £3million for the local economy. It’s such a shame that 50 odd years of the AGM is over.” Through all their events during a
the year, Young Farmers raise money for charity. Sadie added: “Each year, Young
Farmers raise close to £1million for charities around the UK. Young Farmers is also a charity - so it’s a charity giving away to a charity!” Sadie, 26, lives in Chillington with her husband Matt on his family’s farm, along with their young son Jack and another baby on the way. Husband Matt is currently Junior
Most competitions happen at
group level then progress to county level. Some things, including entertainments, continue to national competitions. Unfortunately, at national level,
the Young Farmers AGMs have now been cancelled after some negative publicity. Sadie explained: “The National
AGM alternated between Torquay and Blackpool and unfortunately, due to a small number of individuals, it’s been cancelled by the national board. It’s such a shame as the negative publicity of a few drunk individuals overshadowed all the good the AGMs did for charity and local business. “For a lot of Young Farmers
the AGM was their one chance to
“This year the focus for Young Farmers across the UK is on rural mental health.”
Vice Chairman of Devon Young Farmers. The farm is a traditional mixed
farm of dairy, sheep, beef and arable. Matt is up at six o’clock, 365 days a year, finishing work around 7pm in the winter and on to midnight in the summer out on the fields. Before the milking became automated he’d be up at 4.30am to milk the cows. Sadie is originally from North
Cornwall where her family had a beef and sheep farm. Her two sisters stayed in farming – one in Cornwall and the other in New Zealand. “I first met Matt at a sheep show when I was four,” she smiled. “And it was meet ups with Young Farmers that certainly gelled us. “Young Farmers has to be the biggest dating agency in the UK. So many people meet through the clubs.” Kingsbridge Young Farmers meet on
the first Tuesday of the month, at Sher- ford or West Charleton Village Hall. Alongside activities they also host
talks from chosen charities. This year the focus for Young Farmers across the UK is on rural mental health. This is a subject close to Sadie’s
heart. Although born into a farming family she trained as a community support worker for mental health. She said: “Mental health is a huge issue in farming. Suicide is one of the highest killers of men in farming. We talk about broken legs why not broken heads? Potentially it’s up to the Young Farmers to make it less taboo. “The more people talk about it the
more it normalises it. It needs to be talked about more often.”
Anyone interested in joining Kingsbridge Young Farmers can visit the group’s Facebook page or contact Sadie on 07557 444802.
Chairman of Kingsbridge Young Farmers
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