The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, with the generous support of Dairy Crest, will once again offer the chance for Agricultural Colleges in the UK to enter the Dairy Student Award for 2010.
Since the launch of the Award in 1991 the participation and enthusiasm of the colleges and universities has been outstanding. To find out details of the 2010 winner, click here
This competition has been revised to reflect the need for modern dairy farmers to understand the industry, it's strengths and weaknesses, and how best to apply farming methods to achieve optimum results. Apart from the ability to demonstrate academic strengths, the judges will look for someone who can apply themselves to the technical and management challenges the fictitious job would present. The judges will also clearly be looking for a candidate who is ambitious and likely to move upwards on the career ladder.
The winning student will receive a £1,000 cash prize and his/her college will receive a donation of £500 to be spent on a dairying educational project. All other finalists will receive £100 each.
This year the Award will once again operate as a three-tier competition:
- The practical judging will take place on Thursday 11th February 2010 at Reaseheath College, Nantwich, Cheshire where students are invited to address how the dairy unit can become more efficient and adapts itself to the needs of the dairy industry.
- Successful candidates from the first round will be invited to visit a Dairy Crest processing plant on Tuesday 16th March 2010 to tour the facilities, discuss and gather further information on industry and consumer issues and therefore the requirements of dairy processors.
- Finalists will be invited to discuss "How do I structure my farm to meet the needs of the processor?" at the Farmers Club on Friday 26th March 2010, when the announcement of the winner will be made.
Colleges have been invited to submit their top dairying student by Wednesday 6th January 2010 and applications and CV's from students must be received by Wednesday 20th January 2010.