4 April 2011
Richard Young, a final year student at the University of Newcastle is the RABDF/Dairy Crest Dairy Student of the Year. Richard was awarded a £1,000 cash prize by Dairy Crest and the university he represented received £500 towards a dairying educational project.
A memento was presented to each of the other two finalists short listed for the award: William Bolton studying BSc Agricultural Technology at Queen’s University, Belfast and Anita Simmons studying BSc Agriculture at Cannington College.
The preliminary round of interviews for the RABDF/Dairy Crest Student of the Year Award took place last month at Reaseheath College of Agriculture, where a panel of judges questioned eight entrants on the college’s dairy enterprise and how it could improve its efficiency and service to the industry. Three finalists were selected and went on to tour Dairy Crest’s Gloucestershire dairy at Severnside to gain a greater understanding of milk processing and the priorities for consumers. The finalists then made a formal presentation in London on Friday 1 April, on how they plan to develop their career in dairying and how the industry can be structured to meet the needs of the market place.
Mr Young secured an ND Agriculture, followed by an HND Agriculture with Animal Nutrition at CAFRE Greenmount Campus back home in Northern Ireland before taking up his current course - BSc (Hons) Agriculture, Animal Production Science. While studying over the last three years, he has also assisted his cousin, Derek Walker establish and grow a 200 cow herd averaging 9,400litres at Kilmore, Omagh. He is responsible for grassland management, assisting in diet formulation and involved in general herd management. To the future, Mr Young plans to continue studying with a PhD focused on nutrition and dairy cow fertility. “Fertility is a growing issue within the dairy herd and there is seemingly no easy solution to stem the trend. I have seen first-hand how poor fertility can seriously affect returns. A PhD on this particular area would provide me with a real opportunity to make a difference,” he commented.
Mr Young believes that the long term future for UK dairying presents numerous challenges and opportunities for the entire sector. “The removal of milk quotas in 2015 will signal an increase in milk production throughout Europe and accompanying weakening of commodity market prices,” he said. “To maintain a sustainable industry in the UK, then I believe that all members of the chain will have to pull together; farmers will need to become more savvy in negotiating contracts and processors will have to continue the development of added value products, while I would also like to a see an injection of spend on consumer advertisements to increase demand for liquid milk.”
Sponsor, Dairy Crest’s Alan Wren said: “For the future success of our industry, it is crucial that we raise the profile of dairy farming amongst young people. The RABDF/Dairy Crest Student Award is open to all agricultural colleges in the UK and can help encourage and develop talented, forward-thinking people to be part of the dairy industry. We are pleased to continue our sponsorship of this award, which includes a visit to our Severnside dairy so that the finalists can gain an insight into dairy processing and the importance of efficiency and innovation throughout the supply chain.”
RABDF’s chief executive, Nick Everington commented: “Rewarding success and achievement, and promoting career opportunities in the dairy sector are key activities for our association. We need more of these intelligent and highly motivated farmers to drive our industry forward to enable it to compete in world markets and secure the future for British dairy farming.”
Richard Young with his award and the two finalists, William Bolton and Anita Simmons, with left, RABDF chief executive, Nick Everington and Dairy Crest commercial director, Alan Wren