A Harper Adams University student has beaten five other finalists to take home the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers’ (RABDF) Dairy Student Award.
Jon Witter has won the award, which is sponsored by ForFarmers and has been running for over a decade.
The competition is designed to reflect real-life challenges seen on dairy farms and broader policy issues and identify some of the sector’s rising stars and new entrants.
The winner was announced at Dairy-Tech last week, and the presentation saw Witter take home a cheque for £750. Teddy Moore from Reading University was named as the runner up.
This year’s judging panel consisted of RABDF chair Robert Craig, Alison Ewing of ForFarmers and Kaia Hillsmith of Kite Consulting.
Commenting on the winner, Craig said: “The standard of this year’s students was incredibly high, making the final decision almost impossible.
“Jon gave an excellent presentation which highlighted his knowledge of dairy farming both at home and on a wider level concerning the industry as a whole.”
ForFarmers technical development manager Ewing said: “This is the first year ForFarmers have sponsored the award, something we are proud to be associated with.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the judging process and meeting the finalists; their passion for the dairy industry was infectious, once nerves were overcome.
“Congratulations to all and especially to Jon and Teddy, as winner and runner-up. I hope they start their dairy careers with good support and mentors to harness their enthusiasm and knowledge.”
The RABDF Dairy Student Award is open to entrants studying at universities and colleges.
The tasks takes the form of a 1,500-word essay response to a case study prepared by Kite Consulting and a presentation to a panel of judges at the Farmer’s Club in London.
