A LISKEARD Young Farmer will be heading for Kenya after securing one of just 12 places on a national travel scheme.

Milly Bersey and her good friend Bea Hodge from Wadebridge Young Farmers were both successful in their interviews at a selection day run by the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC).

The programme, which has been running for 25 years, offers Young Farmers the opportunity to experience another way of life while volunteering on practical projects in rural communities.

During the two-week trip in August, Milly and Bea will stay with host families in town of Nanyuki, in the foothills of Mount Kenya.

There, they’ll spend the first week helping out at a daycare centre for children, providing English language activities, sports and games.

The second week will be spent working alongside local farmers, with the chance both to learn and share experience. The group will participate in tasks and projects such as sustainability programmes, crop rotation and pest control, organic farming methods, weeding and composting, care of livestock, and maintenance of enclosures and fences. 

The trip also includes a weekend safari at the Lake Nakuru National Park.

Milly, 23, said she was looking forward to experiencing a completely new culture.

“Seeing farming in a different climate will be interesting, too,” she said.

“They must deal with some extreme farming differences.”

Having gained a place on the programme, participants now have to raise more than £2500 to cover their own travel and costs.

Milly will be fitting fundraising events in to her already busy life over the next few months. She divides her time each week between the Cotswolds, where she is based for work, and Cornwall, where she comes home to help on her family’s smallholding near Liskeard, and keep up her duties as General Purpose Vice Chairman of the county Young Farmers’ Club.

It’s her aim to be county chairman in the next five years or so, and to do this she’ll need to take on each of the different roles in the committee one-by-one, gaining the experience and skills needed to succeed in the top position. General Purpose Vice Chairman is all about organising events, but the county team have an amazing support in the shape of their three permanent staff.

“Fiona, Alice and Becky work in the Cornwall office. We are so lucky that we have so many members that we can have the three of them, whereas some clubs only have one person,” she explained.

“They are wonderful and do so much for the Cornwall Young Farmers.”

Meanwhile Milly has recently begun a job as assistant steward with the British Horse Racing Authority, and it’s one that sees her at a different racecourse each day of the week. She’s one of around 40 referees nationally who attend events in teams of five, monitoring what goes on to ensure that the rules and the integrity of the sport are upheld.

“I usually come back to Cornwall a couple of days a week,” she said.

“Some people say I’m mad, but I love home!”

Anyone who’s interested in joining the Young Farmers should look out for their local YFC Facebook page, or visit www.cornwallyfc.co.uk. To find out more about the Travel Programme go to www.nfyfc.org.uk/YFCVolunteeringAbroad

A spokesperson for Cornwall Young Farmers said: “We are absolutely delighted to hear that all three of our Cornish applicants have been successful on the NFYFC Travel Programme. Many congratulations to Bea and Milly, and Lowri, who has been awarded a space on the trip to Jamaica.

“We cannot recommend the YFC Travel programme to members enough.”