Florence Turley in final for RABDF Dairy Student of the Year

After a successful semi finals at the RABDF Dairy Student of the Year competition, Florence Turley has been successful in reaching the final round. The BSc Agriculture with Animal Science student's passion and enthusiam has helped her to showcase precisely why modern dairy farmers are in an exciting time, heading into a dynamic future for farming.

Florence explained how the competiton came about, saying: "Our dairy lecturer, Professor Liam Sinclair, mentioned the competition. We had to write about our experience and why we should be put forward. The university were allowed to nominate three people to be put forward and, fortunately for us, the three Harper students all made it to the finals.

"I'm really excited for the event; myself and the other finalist are going to Dairy-Tech to have question time with a farmer and a discussion with the audience before they announce the winner. It's going to be great to attend the event and meet people who are interested and passionate about dairy."

Being raised on a dairy farm, Florence has always been surrounded by the industry but is looking to take a different path to her grandfather and mother before her. For her future ambitions, she explained: "I'm really keen to work in genetics, calf rearing and breeding. Ideally I'd like to work on a few more farms for experience and grounding of my knowledge and then look into consultancy around rearing and breeding.

"Harper really helped drive this home for me. Before my placement year, I'd worked on farms before but never for such a long period of time. Working for a whole year was really good to put into practise what I've learnt in lectures and really work on my practical skills.

"It's great that the year is compulsory because it gives you experience where other students might not get the chance. It also makes sure you don't fall out of sync with your peers. The Harper community is with you whether you're on campus or not and it's great coming back to that in my final year."

The winner will be announced tomorrow, midday at Dairy-Tech in Stoneleigh. Harper Adams will also be in attendance with the Harper On Tour team at Stand I17. Do come along to ask about degrees that matter and how our robotics are paving the way in our on-site dairy farm.