THE Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust has announced the appointment of their largest cohort ever with 23 new Scholars for 2024, two of whom are from Scotland.

Wallace Currie, from Dumfries, is a lecturer at the SRUC with a particular interest in global food production, precision technology and agricultural communication. He is also the creator of the podcast “R2Kast – People in Food and Farming” which showcases how inspiring individuals have made their career in food and farming.

Wallace is keen to see further growth in agricultural education in the UK and hopes to explore how teaching methods from around the world can be combined with engaging and interactive methods of conveying agriculture to benefit both tertiary and higher education. To achieve this, he aims to visit the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland and Singapore.

He is supported by The MacRobert Trust, and his topic is 'Let's get Agricultural Education into the Tramlines'.

Jock Gibson is a butcher and beef and sheep farmer based in Dallas, Scotland, with 250 head of cattle on a Pasture for Life assured beef system.

For his study, “Enhanced Meat Eating Quality from 100% Pasture and Forage Systems”, he will explore grass and forage systems and understand how the animals’ diet and nutrition affect eating quality. Jock also wants to learn how red meat consumption and personal well-being are linked and aims to pull all of his learnings together to establish how to produce excellent meat eating quality from 100% grass and forage diets.

Jock is supported jointly by Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland and Worshipful Company of Butchers

Over the course of their Scholarships, they will travel internationally to gain an in-depth understanding of their study topic from global experts.

“Following a substantial number of exceptional applicants this year, we are delighted to announce our biggest ever cohort of Nuffield Farming Scholars,” said Mike Vacher, director of the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust.

“Our 2024 Scholars have already displayed a clear passion for their chosen topics, and I have no doubt that they have the potential to become leaders who shape the future of agriculture.

“We are looking forward to introducing our 2024 cohort to the Nuffield Farming family at this year’s ‘Super Conference’ in Exeter. This will be the pinnacle of what is already set to be a fantastic event, with over 30 Scholars presenting their study findings.”