MEET THE TEAM

James Chapman is an ex-Chair of NFYFC, Nuffield Scholar and has been a very committed supporter of the Farm Safety Foundation since its formation in 2014. James was 23 years old when he suffered a life changing farm accident.  James was brought up on the small family farm in Warwickshire and earned a national diploma in agriculture at Moreton Morrell Agricultural College before setting up his own contracting business working on all aspects of farming for employers in the surrounding area.

Despite the difficulties he experienced, James has become an avid campaigner for improving safety on our farms. He was named Farmers Weekly ‘Farming Champion’ in 2011 and awarded an MBE for services to farm safety and was one of the first Farm Safety Ambassadors for the Foundation. In 2016 James published a report on ‘How Farm Safety Can Be Improved’ as part of his Nuffield Scholarship which involved visiting other countries in an attempt to get some understanding of the global issue of farm safety.

RAU graduate, James has been a member of Young Farmers Clubs of Ulster since he was 12. He served as Deputy President 2015-2017 and subsequently President of YFCU 2017-2019 and is still very much involved with the YFC and UFU network.

James is a passionate supporter of rural affairs especially mental health, farm safety and rural crime and has been a big supporter of the charity since we started and helped us develop and launch our YFCU farm safety training during his year in office.

Former strategic director for the cereals and oilseeds division of AHDB, Martin joined the Farm Safety Foundation board in August 2023. Prior to this, Martin worked for the Meat and Livestock Commission holding a wide range of roles from research, through marketing to strategic planning. He has a wealth of knowledge in promoting sales development and business skills improvement in the red meat supply chains as well as a degree in Animal Physiology and a PhD in ruminant nutrition.

Having worked with farmers for 40 years, he has seen how practices have changed with both the increasing opportunity for accidents to occur but also the recognition that safety is paramount for both those working on the farm and those visiting it. Martin hopes to bring his governance and strategic planning skills to the board.

Raised in Scotland before moving to America as a teenager, Craig became  involved in agriculture through a high school agriculture education programme. It was then he decided to spend the rest of his life teaching agriculture.

Craig studied at (formerly SAC and now) SRUC in Aberdeen and earned a Bachelors Degree in Agriculture Education at Fresno State and Masters in Ag Education at Cal Poly, both in California. He taught and ran a high school agriculture programme for 14 years while earning multiple awards for recognition for teaching and was actively involved in leadership within the California Agriculture Teacher’s Association. Craig returned to Scotland in 2019 and now leads the agriculture programme at SRUC’s Edinburgh campus.

He is an non-executive board member for SRUC and is involved in the Peebleshire Agriculture Discussion Society, as well as being actively involved in other agricultural organisations informally. In his spare time, he enjoys mountain biking and playing tennis.

James is a partner at Saffery, a leading firm of Chartered Accountants and business advisors based in Peterborough and leads the firm’s Land & Rural Practice Group in the East of England. The firm has a national team of 170 people spread across 9 offices and representing more than 1,000 rural businesses and more than 3 million acres of land across the UK.

James is passionate about promoting good mental health in the workplace: he has sponsored well being programmes in each of his last two businesses, and is a trained Mental Health First Aider.  James is an accountant and tax advisor, a member of the ICAEW and STEP, a trustee of a number of property, rural business, and charitable trusts, and a season ticket holder at the Oval.

Hailing from Donegal in Ireland, Stephanie’s friends were either farmers or fishermen; equally dangerous industries. After studying European Business Studies and spending time living and studying in Asturias and Barcelona, Stephanie began a career in journalism at Belfast’s Newsletter, working in the business section of the newspaper before joining publishing house Greer Publications with Ulster Business magazine.

After various roles in the Greer Publications group with Specify magazine and Ulster Business, Stephanie was appointed Editor of the award-winning Northern Woman magazine as well as editing the lifestyle section of Ulster Business.

From 2006-2014 she was Marketing & PR Manager for W5, Ireland’s only science centre and a charity with educational aims before her move, in 2014, to Stratford-upon-Avon where she has developed and grown the Farm Safety Foundation, its education programme and award-winning campaigns. Stephanie is a qualified Mental Health First Aider, author of The Little Book of Minding Your Head, a member of ISASH (International Society of Agricultural Safety & Health) and represents the UK on Safety Culture and Risk Management in Agriculture (SACURIMA) – Cost Action CA16123.

Alix joined the team in July 2023 from AHDB where she spent much of her time writing about cows!

After completing her Master’s degree in History, Alix worked first for Aberystwyth University and then Rugby School as part of their Fundraising and Development teams. In 2019, she returned to her roots in agriculture, joining AHDB’s Marketing and Communications team where she worked in a variety of roles before landing in the Dairy Communications team where she helped look after the Strategic Dairy Farm programme.

She is passionate about serving the rural community and helping farmers engage with our messages and content.

Sophie has been with us since July 2019. After studying Business and Management at Leeds Metropolitan University, Sophie worked at a children’s camp in the USA as the official camp photographer. She then went on to start an administrative internship at an innovative manufacturing organisation in Warwickshire, which led onto a marketing role within the organisation.

She has recently completed her CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing and Mental Health First Aid training and looks after fundraising and shows & events for the Foundation.

Megan joined the team in January 2022. Coming from a teaching background and with firm roots in the YFC network, Megan is ideally placed to look after our Shows & Events and deliver our Introduction to Farm Safety training sessions. Megan is the country training officer for Warwickshire, a member of Long Itchington Young Farmers Club and has recently been elected onto the Personal Development Steering Group at NFYFC.

Megan recently completed her Masters degree where she achieved a distinction of course – where does she find the time?