Kellie Rouse from the outskirts of Strabane, Co. Tyrone has been appointed as the new policy officer covering the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) beef and lamb and hill farming committees.
Kellie has a hill farming background, farming predominantly sheep alongside a small suckler herd. Growing up on the family farm inspired Kellie’s love for agriculture. She went on to study a BSc Agricultural Technology with a Professional Studies degree at CAFRE/Queens.
While working as a farm business consultant at Burnhead Rural Services located in Gortin, Kellie gained great exposure to the basic payment scheme, nitrates, farm business improvement scheme grants and environmental farming scheme. She also continued to develop her agricultural knowledge and graduated in early 2023 with a MSc degree in Business for Agri-Food and Rural Enterprise, through CAFRE/Queens.
Kellie is currently a member of the UFU Next Generation committee and sat on the hill farming committee before joining the UFU policy team. Having always had a keen interest in farming, she now hopes to contribute to a sustainable and viable agriculture future for all and is looking forward to working with local farmers to address key issues facing Northern Ireland beef and sheep farmers.
