Young farmers in Norfolk have been given financial help to fund a range of practical training courses.

With funding from LandSkills East, the Norfolk Federation of Young Farmers' Club has supplemented a �44,000 training budget to improve skills.

And members have attended courses on hoof trimming, butchery, poultry welfare, trailer handling as well as safe use of chainsaws, pesticides and welding.

The YFC's enhanced agricultural training programme aims to support young and new entrants to farming by increasing skills and thus improve job prospects.

Ches Broom, county co-ordinator for Norfolk YFC, said that the agricultural industry needed highly skilled workers but it was often very difficult for young people to enter.

With more than 600 young members, the county federation has been working hard to address the skills deficit and build a closer working relationship with Easton and Otley Colleges. By sharing staff and resources, YFC and Easton have been able to develop many training opportunities and boost the number of young people engaged in the agricultural industry.

One of the most successful projects, again led by the Norfolk YFC, has been the Farming & Business Forum. It aims to develop skills for those, who perhaps aspire to run their own businesses in future.

It now has more than 40 entrepreneurial members.

The forum is supported by many organisations including EBLEX, the John Innes Centre and the Centre for Contemporary Agriculture.

In the coming weeks, eight members will travel to Germany for Agritechnica in Hanover and another eight visit New York to attend a Young Farmers' Conference.

Norfolk YFC also supporting young people by running the Growing Business Award. A �5,000 prize is awarded at the end of a five-month training programme on business planning and financial forecasting.

It is funded by Anglia Farmers, Clan Trust, Norfolk Farmers' Trust, Rackham Trust and the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association.

Each participant in the programme has a mentor and last year, there were four finalists. Three have since developed their own businesses.

In a sense, the Young Farmers organisation has almost turned full circle. A generation or two ago, it was the launch of proficiency tests, which became the cornerstone of YFC education in the 1950s.