Butchers' and Drovers' Charitable Institution Bursary: Harriet Noble

Harriet Noble, 23, from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire is a final year Agriculture with Animal Science student and recipient of the Butchers and Drovers Charitable Institution Bursary.

“Growing up on a beef and sheep farm in West Yorkshire meant that much of our production was focussed on the livestock and meat trade, igniting a passion for livestock farming in me from a young age.

“Choosing the agriculture degree more specific to animal science allowed me focus on livestock health and production, for example the modules I have undertaken include; farm animal health, genetics and bioethics, farm animal nutrition, advances in animal production systems and sustainable animal production systems. From undertaking this course, my passion for livestock production has only strengthened and has inspired me to pursue a career in livestock production and health.

“The Butchers and Drovers Bursary Award allows an opportunity for livestock orientated students like myself to pursue a career in the meat trade upon graduation from Harper Adams University. This bursary will allow me to undertake the qualifications required to make me more employable, for example artificial insemination qualification, towing trailer license and foot trimming.

“During my placement year, I used some of the money from the bursary to purchase 20 Texel X breeding sheep, of which the lambs were finished on our upland farm and sold through our family butchery business, and the breeding ewes were then sold on as I prepared to return to university. This allowed me to gain knowledge of the meat supply chain, some of which I will use in my future career.

“Once reaching the third year of my course at Harper Adams, I undertook an industrial placement year on a 400 head dairy farm in West Chester. This enabled me to broaden my knowledge of how other farming systems work, in different landscapes and on a much larger scale to my own. My role on placement was very heavily involved in the rearing of young stock from birth to the heifers’ first service, or to the finishing of the animals in the beef enterprise. My time there really pushed me to work in environments I wasn’t familiar with and encouraged me to adapt under pressure.

“Upon graduation from Harper Adams, I intend to travel to New Zealand and Australia undertaking work placements to gain an insight into alternative livestock production systems where I will gain the skills necessary for my future career path. Only the money that the BDCI kindly awarded me has allowed me to do this.”

In Harriet’s spare time, she is heavily involved with Young Farmers, “I am an active member of Maelor Young Farmers Club, competing at regional and national levels, both individually and as part of a team. NFYFC allows the coming together of likeminded individuals, not only to socialise but to share ideas for the future of UK agriculture. My biggest achievement to date within Young Farmers is winning the National Public Speaking title during my junior years. I am a keen competitor in tug of war. I have competed for various Young Farmers clubs across the country at both regional and national level, including the Royal Welsh Show in 2018. In addition to this, I was also an integral part of a Tug of War Association and Federation team where we travelled around the UK competing in major tournaments.”