Rachel Fyfe became the latest farmer to take up the prominent role after previous incumbent Joe Stanley's back-to-back two-year terms came to an end.
She and her family run a mixed farm of suckler beef, sheep and arable on owner-occupied and tenanted land in West Northamptonshire, with diversifications including dog walking fields.
Coming into farming from the outside
Originally from a non-farming family, Rachel travelled to Australia after leaving school and ended up working on a remote outback cattle station, where all the work was done on horseback, before heading home. One farm job later led to another and she then went on to study agriculture.
She had a career in the industry before marrying a farmer and setting up a farm in the 1990s.
“We should be productive and minimise the import of food which can be grown here. And, as you know, we produce some of the best and safest food in the world. Public procurement, or rather the lack of it, is a big personal irritation.
“I have had many years on the frontline of farming, feeding cows, lambing sheep, driving tractors, fixing fences and laying hedges and have loved all of it.
“But now I am happy to get more involved with other parts of the industry, helping to solve some of the various issues that come along which impact all types of British farmers.”
She is keen to get stuck into the role, looking forward to meeting more members across the three-county patch and representing their concerns and issues at NFU Council and beyond.
“I firmly believe that British farmers’ primary purpose is to feed the people of Britain and of course looking after the environment as we go.”
Rachel Fyfe
“There’s that classic saying: ‘if you want something doing, ask a busy person’, and I’m not someone who can sit around or step away from the farm.
“I like input and issues that make you think.
Useful contribution
“I have big boots to fill after Joe’s tenure, but I have a lot of life experience to draw upon and that will only help me over the next two years.
“There is so much happening in the industry just now so I hope I can make a useful contribution.”