Olivia Richardson

NFU Next Generation Forum Chair, North East Regional Board and NFU Darlington Branch Chair

A former secondary school teacher, Olivia is passionate about educating the next generation, strongly believing in the power of knowledge to equip the great minds of the agricultural industry as well as empowering the consumer to make informed decisions.

While the family business manage a Limousin suckler herd and B&B pigs, Olivia has recently invested in her own Hereford herd with aspirations to supply local produce with minimal ‘Field to Fork’ miles. She is mostly involved in the arable sector of their family farm on the North Yorkshire & Durham border while also working on a Dales sheep farm who have diversified into producing haylage for the nation’s Racehorses.

As local branch chair with a seat on the regional board, Olivia enjoys the ‘on the ground’ level of engaging with farmers but is excited about the opportunities within technology advances and environmental developments opening up the industry to new entrants. She firmly believes we must engage with all to ensure food security, becoming more self sufficient by fundamentally buying seasonally and locally.

This is Olivia’s fourth term as a member of the NFU Next Generation Forum and is enthusiastic about leading the group of young professionals with their wealth of knowledge in a large variation of sectors and current topics.