The Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust has announced the appointment of 24 new scholars for 2025, two of whom are from the poultry sector.
Yorkshire-based Charlotte Cole is a poultry vet committed to advancing the health and welfare of laying hens and improving sustainability of the poultry industry. She believes that a focus on pullet rearing is crucial to effectively addressing issues in laying hens and that collaboration is urgently needed in this area to improve success. Through her Nuffield Farming Scholarship, she hopes to study international practices in pullet rearing to promote disease resilience and improve the overall productivity and sustainability of the UK egg industry.
Her study title is ‘Preparing pullets for the future of the UK egg industry’ and is supported by the BEMB Research and Education Trust.
Wales-based barrister Sioned Davies has both a professional and personal interest in agricultural land use and planning, as well as the environmental and regulatory obstacles faced by farmers. In addition to her legal career, she also hopes to expand her family farming business with an insect farming enterprise and utilise the litter from their broiler unit as a substrate. During her scholarship, she will explore the challenges and opportunities of scaling insect production as part of a circular poultry business.
Her study title is ‘Scaling insect protein production from a range of substrates, including on-farm chicken litter’ and is supported by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society supported by the Eira Francis Davies Bursary.
Over the course of their scholarships, they will travel internationally to gain an in-depth understanding of their study topic from global experts and leaders.
“Applications this year were incredibly strong, which made the job of our selection committee particularly challenging,” said Rupert Alers-Hankey, director of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust.
“This is my first year as director and I have been so impressed by the cohort of 2025 Scholars, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and sectors. The list of topics the scholars have chosen to explore is inspiring and reflects some of our industry’s most pressing challenges. Nuffield Farming Scholarships help develop future leaders in the UK’s agriculture and rural sectors. There is no doubt in my mind that the 2025 Nuffield Farming scholars will lead positive change in agriculture”.
The trust will officially introduce their latest cohort at the Nuffield Farming Conference, to be held in Belfast in November.