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Fact-finding Australia trip boosted via Gareth Raw Rees Memorial Travel Scholarship

Posted 30 July 2024

A fact-finding mission to Australia for one Harper student is set to be boosted with a Gareth Raw Rees Memorial Travel Scholarship.

Final-year BSc (Hons) Animal Production Science undergraduate Elin Davies, from Llanbydder, is set to make the trip after this year’s graduation ceremony in September, and will use the £400 to help fund her travels.

She is one of eight young farmers from across Wales who have financially benefited from this year’s Scholarship – whose winners were announced at the 2024 Royal Welsh Show. 
The scholarship, administered by NFU Cymru, was set up in memory of the late Gareth Raw Rees, who, for many years, was a delegate on the NFU Council and Chairman of the NFU Education Committee. Gareth believed fervently that travel was an important form of education for young people. The Scholarship is extremely grateful to the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust for their contribution to the Travel Scholarship Fund.

In total, £3,550 has been awarded by the Management Committee to scholars wishing to broaden their knowledge of agriculture.

This year’s awards were presented by Simon Painter, Head of Regional Sales at NFU Mutual, at a special ceremony at the Royal Welsh Show.

Elin, 22, will make the journey out to Australia – where she plans to work on a dairy farm and get first-hand experience of the county’s milk production.

She already helps out on the family dairy and sheep farm in Carmarthenshire, where she has her own flock of Texel sheep.  She also now responsible for selecting which bulls to use on which cows at the farm, after the family implemented a sexed semen policy.

Elin said: “My aim while in Australia is to work on a dairy farm and hope to learn how Australian dairy farms reach their production levels from forage in order to take these lessons home.”