Two members of the Future Farmers of Yorkshire have been awarded bursaries to help further their dairy careers.
After careful consideration of all applications, Future Farmers have selected dairy farmers Georgina Fort and Sam Else to take up a bursary offer to take part in and benefit from the Entrepreneurs in Dairying training programme.
For aspiring dairy producers, the programme is organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) in collaboration with The Andersons Centre, AHDB Dairy and the NFU.
Training will be delivered at intervals over the coming months in a mixture of virtual and in-person formats, and concludes in February 2022.
Now in its eighth year, nearly 300 applicants have successfully completed the programme, all from varying backgrounds within or related to the industry. It has provided applicants with contacts and connections to go on and establish their own businesses or develop their existing businesses.
Our chosen Future Farmers
Georgina farms at Silsden, West Yorkshire. Having completed a degree in Theatre and Performance Studies, Georgina returned to the family farm eight years ago.
Georgina said:
Having grown up on my family dairy farm I embarked on a different route for studying when I left school.
I always felt I could return to the farm one day and get hands on knowledge.
Since being at home full time for eight years now, I have worked my way up to running the dairy business.
But I’m very ambitious and want to further enhance my business knowledge in the hope of developing our business further.
I have a young family so this course appeals to me with the course being run part virtual.
My current challenge is making changes to our business that would enhance our profitability and protect us from the volatile dairy market.
I really want to learn more about financial planning and how to understand the dairy markets. It would also be interesting to learn about succession planning and whether our plan is the right thing to do.
Sam is an organic dairy farmer from Staintondale, Scarborough. He attended Newton Rigg College and is currently participating in the Tesco Future Farming Programme.
He said:
I’ve worked on herringbone and rotary parlours, helped herd expansion from 300-650 cows and I am experienced with foot trimming and AI.
My main challenges at present are improving herd fertility and increasing milk production.
My aspiration is to gain the right knowledge to take over the family farm.
I’m doing the course to increase my business knowledge and to develop my understanding of breeding, nutrition and animal health.
