Dear Scholars and friends,
As we approach the end of 2024, the Trehane Trustees are keen to update you on events and happenings this year.
The Trehane Trust encourages learning and networking throughout the dairy supply chain. On behalf of the trustees, I hope you think we’ve been successful this year and that we have put in place some good initiatives going into 2025.
One of our key investments in encouraging learning and broadening skills for those in the dairy industry is through a Nuffield Farming Scholarship.
NFST Patron HRH The Duke of Gloucester welcomes Andy Moore (centre) with Diana Allen chair of the Trehane Trust
So we were pleased to welcome our 2025 scholar, Andy Moore, at the Nuffield Conference in November.
His scholarship title ‘How will automation affect the dairy landscape and where do we go from here’ and his enthusiasm to push the boundaries in this area for the benefit of the UK dairy industry appealed to the Nuffield scholarship interviewing panel.
The Trehane Trustees are delighted to be given the opportunity to support this study, and to have Andy as a Trehane Scholar.
Andy is head engineer with ADF Milking Ltd and grew up on dairy farms around the country before becoming a herdsman and going to the University of the West of England, Bristol to study product design technology.
Our 2024 scholars, Ifan Roberts and Sophie Gregory, are in the midst of their studies and have been busy travelling and researching their topics.
Those attending the Nuffield conference in Belfast will have had the opportunity to hear the 2023 Trehane Scholar Hannah Batty present a synopsis of her study titled: ‘People, Processes, Potential: a blueprint for great team management on UK dairy farms. Her presentation was well received, and we await her final report which is due to be published early in 2025.
Nuffield Next-Gen Scholarships
The Trehane Trust has committed to support the Nuffield Farming Trust’s Next Gen scheme by sponsoring two dairy scholars. These scholarships are targeted at young people, aged between 18 and 24, starting out in their dairy careers.
This will be the second year of Next Gen initiative and follows on from the very successful pilot project with three Northern Ireland young dairy scholars in 2024. Nuffield is also rolling out the project to the poultry sector in Scotland to tie in with the 2025 Nuffield Conference in Aberdeen.
Encouraged by the calibre and enthusiasm of the first group of young dairy scholars, the Trehane Trustees are keen to encourage more young people in our industry to further their knowledge and passion for dairy; and we believe this initiative will help maintain the momentum.
Applications are live now and close on January 31, 2025. Please encourage any young dairy enthusiasts that you consider have the potential to work hard to develop their knowledge and experience in the industry to apply. More information and application details can be found through this link:
Nuffield Farming Next-Gen Scholarship | Nuffield Farming Scholarships
Trehane Scholar networking event, October 2024
Trehane Scholar networking event, October 2024
This year, the Trehane trustees ran a 24-hour dairy networking event which turned out to be highly successful. Thanks go particularly to Tim May and Oli Chidgey from Kingsclere Estate for hosting a very informative farm tour starting with lunch in the village hall and an introduction to the estate and to the dairy setup.
The event then moved to the Chequers Hotel in Newbury for pre-dinner presentations from returning scholar Hannah Batty and from Nick Hindle, communications director with First Milk, with more discussion and a social catch-up over dinner.
The following morning’s presentation and workshop focused on ‘Building resilience in the Dairy Supply Chain’ with presentations from Dairy UK’s Emma Gregson on the Dairy UK Roadmap, the Dairy Group and Trehane Fellow, Richard Lane’s update on his sustainability report and blueprint for UK dairy producers tackling the carbon footprint, and current scholar updates from Ifan Roberts and Sophie Gregory. These were interspersed with interactive sessions ably managed by dairy adviser and Trehane Trustee Tony Evans.
We have had a lot of very positive feedback, on both the content and the format with those who attended saying they learned something useful to take back to their business as well as it being an enjoyable, social event.
Based on this, we have earmarked a second Trehane Trust Scholar networking event for 2025, so please save the dates: October 14th/15th, 2025. We will plan another 24-hour programme in a different part of the country where we will delve into key issues facing the industry and again look to invite eminent informative speakers.
2024 has had more than its fair share of challenges in the agriculture sector and most recently in the dairy sector. Building and maintaining a robust dairy sector is a priority for all Trehane Scholars and Trustees.
Talking and sharing ideas and gaining knowledge with confidence is so important and we will continue to maintain a positive contribution from the Trehane Trust
On behalf of the Trustees and our secretariat we wish you a happy Christmas and look forward to a prosperous and rewarding 2025.
Diana Allen, Chair, and the Trehane Trustees