Students down on the farm

Agriculture students based in Aberdeen are to be given experience of practical farming at the Glensaugh Research Farm, near Laurencekirk, in future.

The move is the result of a new partnership between Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the James Hutton Institute (JHI), and means students studying agriculture at national certificate and degree level at SRUC’s Aberdeen campus will get the opportunity to work with sheep, beef cattle and deer at JHI’s upland unit.

The students from SRUC’s North Faculty will also get practical experience in using machinery.

The collaboration is the latest partnership between SRUC and JHI which already work together on research, events and providing PhD opportunities.

SRUC’s North Faculty agriculture team leader, Philip Wrigglesworth, said the move would help students into employment.

“We are grateful to the James Hutton Institute for the opportunity to work together,” he said.

“We share a common goal of putting research and theory into practice to benefit future food production and animal welfare.”

JHI’s director of science, Professor Deb Roberts, said Glensaugh had been used to test new products and demonstrate innovative land management practices for many years.

She added: “The fact that the farm is now also being used for educational purposes, to help train the next generation of farmers, is fantastic and evidence of the real benefits of collaboration across the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Institutes.”

Agriculture students getting some practical experience at Glensaugh Research Farm, near Laurencekirk.