Name: Julie Blaylock

Age: 22

Address: Hallburn Farm, Longtown, Carlisle, Cumbria

Work: Credit controller at Lloyd Ltd, Carlisle, and I also help out in the farm office when I can. We farm 300 suckler cows producing home-bred stock mainly sired by a Charolais bull. We finish all home-bred stock, as well as buying in-store cattle. We also farm 2000 breeding ewes, mostly Greyfaced Mules using Suffolk and Texel rams, finishing most of the lambs off grass.

Hobbies/interests apart from YFC: I play the piano accordion and enjoy taking part in competitions, as well as local music nights. I also enjoy card-making, scrap-booking, and other arts and crafts.

YFC club: I am a proud member of Longtown YFC and have been for ten years now, holding many posts in the club, including Longtown YFC minutes keeper and scrapbook keeper – 2008 to present day – and secretary 2008-09. I am currently the treasurer of the club. I have also held posts in Northern District such as Northern District field day secretary in 2012, as well as minutes keeper on different county committees. I have just been elected as the Northern District vice-chairman.

Achievements in YFC: I competed at the Northern Area finals of the junior public speaking three times and the national finals of the junior public speaking twice, winning best speaker for Northern Area 2006. I have also represented Cumbria at Northern Area Stockman of the Year 2010, and competed in this competition every year since. I enjoy the field day competitions, qualifying for the Northern Area beef stock judging in 2006 and 2009-11, Northern Area tug of war 2009-10 and 2012. I also represented Cumbria at the national finals of the Beef Live and Carcase judging at the English Winter Fair, Stafford, in October.

Why are you a YFC member? I am a member of Young Farmers because it is a great way to make new friends, while having fun. Young Farmers is a great way to build confidence, gain life skills and it also has a great social side!

Your view on the future of farming: Farming in the future will have many challenges, but with an ever-increasing world population and climate change, farmers will be needed to feed the world. I’m sure the current crop of eager young farmers can continue to push farming forwards into a brighter future.