Young Farmers awarded travel scholarships

A total of £4,000 has been awarded by the management committee to scholars wishing to broaden their knowledge of agriculture, following a donation from the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.

The scholarship, which is administered by NFU Cymru was set up in memory of the late Gareth Raw Rees who, for many years, was a delegate on the NFU Council and Chairman of the NFU Cymru Education Committee.

He believed fervently that travel was an important form of education for young people.

This year’s awards were presented by Jim McLaren MBE, Chairman of NFU Mutual’s Board of Directors at the Royal Welsh Show on Tuesday, July 25.

This year’s main winner is William Davies who received £1,000 to help fund his travels to the USA.

William, 24, from Howey is a graduate of Aberystwyth University who is heavily involved with the family beef and sheep enterprise alongside his contract shepherding business.

The award will help fund a two-month study trip to the USA to learn more about livestock farming.

William said: “I hope to enhance my stockman skills from visiting ranches in Montana and Wyoming and to learn more about the USA’s red meat industry. I feel this will be invaluable as the marketing and production of red meat is constantly under scrutiny and it’s vital to have a well-rounded and educated understanding of worldwide production. This in turn not only helps at individual farm level but also helps future proof the red meat industry within the UK.”

There are nine further recipients from the scholarship this year who are each receiving a financial contribution to help with their travels.

Elizabeth Preston, from Presteigne receives £700 towards a four-month trip to New Zealand.

The 22-year-old Aberystwyth University graduate is currently working as a youngstock manager on a dairy farm. She will visit dairy farms in New Zealand to learn more about regenerative agriculture and how these principles could be applied here in Wales.

Elizabeth said: “I’m keen to learn more about how we can manage our soils, grassland, and natural habitats more holistically. I also want to develop my understanding of how we can increase food production in the face of more volatile weather patterns as well as increasing biodiversity in pastures and sequestering more carbon within our soils. My trip will give me the chance to compare different agricultural practices which will give me the knowledge to help develop my career within agriculture.”

Carys Dyke, a 19-year-old sheep and beef farmer from Howey, near Llandrindod Wells, also receives £700.

Carys is a former pupil of Ysgol Calon Cymru and has also studied at Reaseheath College where she has recently attained a Level 3 Technical Extended Diploma in Agriculture.

She will spend six months in New Zealand where she will work on both sheep and dairy farms to learn about other methods used to produce lamb and milk.

Carys said: “With the volatility that we see in agricultural commodity markets I feel that it is important for me to see alternative ways of farming to maximise the value and profitability of the raw product that we produce. I would also like to experience and learn about the different ways that farms are diversifying, such as sheep milking, to analyse whether a diversification would be viable on our farm to ensure that we always have a sustainable income, even when market prices are low.”

Aberystwyth University graduate Tudor Roderick, from Brecon, will receive £400 towards a one-month trip to Australia.

The 25-year-old beef and sheep farmer will visit Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania to learn about their sheep breeding programmes.

Tudor said: “The Welsh sheep industry currently faces numerous challenges which range from policy and trade, the environment, and the increasing pressure to reduce anthelmintic resistance and antibiotic usage. The opportunity to learn from sheep farmers in Australia will allow me to seek new ideas and bring knowledge back to the Welsh sheep industry. I would like to learn and understand their practice of breeding replacements with higher resilience to perform with a worm burden. I believe this is a practice which is highly replicable in Wales, leading to reduced reliance and resistance to anthelmintics.”

Six of the recipients from the scholarship this year will each receive £200 to help with their travels.

Elizabeth Swancott from Knighton, who works for Hybu Cig Cymru on the Red Meat Development programme, receives £200 towards a one-week trip to the Orkney Islands organised through the Wales YFC International Programme.

Ella Harris, from Knighton, and Ilan Jones, from Bala, both receive £200 towards the costs of attending the week-long Rural Youth Europe rally which will be held in Georgia in November. They will represent Wales YFC at the event and will participate in various workshops and seminars on the challenges and opportunities that rural youth face regarding health issues, creating educational resources and advocating for a healthy lifestyle among the rural youth of participating countries and organisations.

Alaw Evans and Llyr Evans, siblings from Capel Bangor, near Aberystwyth both receive £200 to visit New Zealand.

Alaw will use her trip to develop her knowledge and skills within agri-tourism to benefit the family farm and their holiday cottages enterprise. Llyr will use his time in New Zealand to explore the country and learn about dairy farming techniques that will help his future farming career.

Phoebe Hole, from Llangwm, near Usk, receives £200 from the scholarship towards a four-day trip to the Isle of Man in August as part of the Wales YFC International Programme.

She is looking forward to meeting like-minded individuals who live and work in the countryside before she starts an agriculture degree course in Hartpury College in September .