Two Scots are among a cohort of 23 rural leaders selected to undertake a 2024 Nuffield Farming Scholarship.
The scholarships, awarded by the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, provide recipients with an opportunity to travel internationally to gain an in-depth understanding of their study topic from global experts.
This year’s scholars include Morayshire butcher and beef and sheep farmer Jock Gibson from Dallas, who runs 250 head of cattle on a Pasture for Life assured beef system.
For his topic, Enhanced Meat Eating Quality from 100% Pasture and Forage Systems, Mr Gibson will explore grass and forage systems and understand how the animals’ diet and nutrition affect eating quality.
He 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.
The other scholar is Wallace Currie from Dumfries who is a lecturer at 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.