Ten talented members from Midlands counties descended on NFU Conference Centre for two days of training to boost their skills in presentation, chairing meetings, what to expect when becoming a local officeholder and speaking to the media on the NFU Midlands Future Leaders Course.
The 2025 cohort were Derbyshire's Sam Blagg and David Burton, Lindsey Hutton and Kitty Hamilton from Lincolnshire, Rob Collins, Julian Godwin and Ollie Raybould from Worcestershire, Helen Fisher and Matthew Cole from Warwickshire and Northamptonshire's Megan Ward.
Day one
The first day started with an introduction from NFU Midlands Network Manager George Bostock before the training began, with Margaret Hartley putting the candidates through their presentation skills paces.
After lunch, they were then taught how to successfully chair meetings by Margaret, who gave them the inside track on keeping an agenda on schedule and dealing with difficult attendees among much more.
"It was a fantastic couple of days with great companions - lots to reflect on and to take forward."
Helen Fisher
As part of the residential course, the members finished the day at a hotel nearby and a meal out, where they got to meet NFU Midlands Regional Board Chair Jane Bassett, a Future Leaders alumna who had addressed the group earlier about her NFU officeholder journey, and Deputy Chair Mark Meadows as well as regional staff.
Day two
The second day began with Mark and NFU Midlands Regional Director Rob Newbery taking the cohort through the finer points of what being a local and regional officeholder requires before they were whisked away on a whistle-stop tour of NFU headquarters.
After lunch in a busy NFU canteen on Budget day, six of the group took on media training with Media Manager Oliver Cartwright.
This challenging element put the candidates through rigorous media training, involving a theory section followed by a practical section - conducting their own press-style interviews in front of a camera.
"Exceptional"
“It's been a brilliant two days. It was great to meet the other candidates and thanks to the NFU Midlands team for all their help and advice.”
David Burton
"The candidates were exceptional and brilliantly displayed the breadth of talent we have here in the Midlands," Regional Director Rob Newbery said.
"Giving our members the chance to access high quality training to help them develop both in the NFU and their own farm businesses is crucial to ensure we have a pool of people ready to represent farming now and in the future."
The group will now be invited to more events throughout 2026, including getting tickets to NFU Conference, receiving on-farm social media training and heading to the heart of Westminster to see how the NFU lobbies MPs in parliament.