Posted 11 August 2016
"There is no doubt that our students continue to excel, not only in their academic work but also in their connections with industry and the positive impact they are having on the sector at home and overseas."
Harper Adams University students once more make up the majority of finalists in the running for the title of Agricultural Student of the Year at the British Farming Awards.
Three out of five students shortlisted come from Harper Adams. Nicola Blowey and Andrew Harrison both completed their studies in June and will graduate in September with first-class honours in Agriculture.
The third student shortlisted is Gwesyn Davies, who is just completing his work placement year at 2 Sisters Food Group and preparing to return for his fourth and final year of study.
Nicola, 22, comes from Yelverton, Devon. In addition to her excellent academic track record, Nicola has made a significant contribution to the university community during her time at Harper Adams, as well doing and excellent job of representing herself and Harper Adams throughout the UK and overseas
Nicola has represented both Staffordshire YFC (2015) and Harper Adams (2016) at the Oxford Farming Conference, visited Agritechnica, Germany, as an Oxford Farming Conference Scholar, and was selected for a NFYFC Discovery Programme Exchange trip to Canada, among many other achievements.
Andrew Harrison is the current holder of the RABDF/MSD Animal Health Dairy Student of the Year Award. The 22-year-old, from Slaidburn, Lancashire, has also travelled during his studies. With his first-class grades in years 1 and 2 securing him the opportunity to study at one of the world’s leading centres for dairy science, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University, New York State, USA, with which Harper Adams runs a successful student exchange programme.
And Gwesyn Davies, 21, from Brecon, Powys, was nominated by his placement employer at 2 Sisters Food Group due to the significant impact he has had on the business thanks to two projects – one a video to educate retail customers’ commercial teams about the poultry side of the business and the other a calf feed trial. Tom Lander, Group Agriculture Manager at 2SFG, also praised Gwesyn’s dedication to his family farm, to which he returned every weekend throughout the placement year.
Speaking of the shortlisted students the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Llewellyn, said: "We offer our congratulations to each of the Harper Adams finalists in this year’s British Farming Awards. This prestigious awards scheme highlights the best of British farming, and there is no doubt that our students continue to excel, not only in their academic work but also in their connections with industry and the positive impact they are having on the sector at home and overseas. We wish them all the very best for the finals in October."
The University will be profiling each of the three finalists over the coming week.
1. Nicola Blowey
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