Future Farmers of Yorkshire are now inviting its members to apply for a bursary place on this year’s RABDF Entrepreneurs in Dairying course, starting in September.
This business training programme is for aspiring dairy producers and is organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers in collaboration with The Andersons Centre, AHDB Dairy and the NFU.
Now in its tenth year, Entrepreneurs in Dairying has seen nearly 400 applicants successfully complete the course, all from varying backgrounds within or related to the industry.
The course has provided applicants with contacts and connections to go on and establish their own businesses, whether it be share partnerships, joint ventures, tenancies or development of their existing businesses.
2022 details and how to apply for a bursary place
The 2022 Entrepreneurs in Dairying course will be a mixture of face-to-face and online sessions and will run from Tuesday 20th September to Thursday 8th December.
Details of the full course programme are available here.
Applications open until 1st September to attend the 2022 course via www.rabdf.co.uk/entrepreneurs-in-dairying.
Course testimonial: Georgina Fort
Silsden-based dairy farmer Georgina Fort was among the latest Future Farmers to be awarded a bursary place in 2021.
Below, Georgina (pictured) explains how the course works and how the experience is benefiting her career:
“The RABDF Entrepreneurs in Dairying course isn’t your usual type of course. It can be of great benefit to you personally and professionally.
“The course is stretched over a couple of months. Mainly using online meeting formats with a host of professional people discussing different topics for you to learn about and share your own experiences.
Topics range from succession to people management to how accounts work on farm.
It doesn’t matter if you have your own farm or work for someone, as it can help you understand how the business works and how you could implement it to help your business or set yourself up in farming.
Getting out on farm
“There are two overnight stays to do face to face meetings. This is so you can go on farm and see the practical side of what you have been learning.
“On the other trip away, you explore your own farm accounts and go through what each area means and how things are worked out. This meeting is where I learnt the most.
“Understanding your accounts gives you more ownership of the way you operate, in my eyes, it gives you more chance to control what is put in the end of year accounts and how you deal with your bank as well.”
Breaking down farm budgeting
“The meeting also looked at budgeting for each financial year and how changes in each month or quarter can affect your cash flow.
“By using techniques to breakdown each cost into pence per litre (PPL) then makes you think twice about how you run your business and how a cost in one area of your outgoings might affect your overall PPL but then could yield a return in another area of your business.
“Any adjustments or spending needs to be methodical and planned to maximise your cash flow.
Fresh perspectives from peers
“It was really interesting to see how other farms performed and compared to my own.
“The majority of the group were on systems of cross breeding cows that had extended grazing periods whereas we are pedigree Holsteins and jerseys with limited grazing due to our location and weather.
“There were also farms with robots and some with seasonal calving, we are all year round calving so again it was interesting to see how everyone performed on a yield and costs basis.
It wasn’t just the learning side of the course that was valuable but meeting other young like-minded people who all had a passion for dairy farming was fantastic to see and be part of.
I highly recommend this course to anyone and do not be afraid if you aren’t very good with figures.
The accounts side of it was just a small part of the course but that was one area I really wanted to improve.
Everything is explained and you’re very much encouraged to ask questions.
“A huge thank you to Future Farmers and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for giving me a bursary to attend the course.”
