Wales YFC funding cuts to hit young farmers

Wales YFC has 5,000 members aged 10 to 26 in 155 clubs

Funding cuts to Wales' Young Farmers' Clubs (YFC) will have a big impact on rural communities, unions have said.

It has lost £360,000 from a Welsh government-backed grant used to support its educational work for "thousands" of young people, say Wales YFC bosses.

The Farmers' Union Wales and NFU Cymru called for a rethink.

A Welsh government spokesperson said it offered to meet the Wales Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs to give feedback on its application to help future bids.

The organisation has also lost a £20,000 grant from Natural Resources Wales which said its funding scheme was over-subscribed and that it had offered to work with unsuccessful bidders to help them "strengthen their applications".

Wales YFC chairman Iwan Meirion said he was "extremely disappointed", adding that both funding schemes were "essential for us to maintain our educational programme for thousands of young people living in rural Wales".