Agricultural students scoop top award
A pair of Ayr students are part of a team from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) which has won a UK-wide agricultural competition.
Debbie Dawkins and Olivia Kelly, who study Rural Business Management at SRUC’s Riverside campus in Ayr, scooped first place in the Institute of Agricultural Management’s Farm Planner competition alongside their teammates.
Usually, the cost of sending a team to a farm visit in England has prevented SRUC from entering, but this year the students were able to join an online introduction to The Blagdon Estate, near Newcastle. Debbie and Olivia- together with three students from SRUC Craibstone in Aberdeen- had to come up with a proposal about how to improve the business and take advantage of extra land. They were selected as winners due to their “good, sensible and achievable suggestions for the farm”.
Debbie said:“Being part of the winning team for the IAgrM Farm Planner competition has been an honour. It has allowed us to show our passion for conservation and environmental protection through unique and innovative entrepreneurial management and marketing strategies.”
William Mackay, Programme Team Leader for Rural Business Management in SRUC’s South and West Faculty, said:“The students quickly bonded as a team and overcame the distance between Ayr and Aberdeen through use of technology. Each member brought strengths to the table- sheep, crops, cows, diversification and investment appraisal- and these areas of expertise became an excellent business proposal.
“The judges’comments were that our team’s objectives displayed a commitment to sustainability and innovation in line with the objectives of the host estate.”