• FEB / MAR 2021
THE NSA and Company of Merchants of the Staple of England ( The Staple ) were delighted to facilitate the two study tours in 2019 / 2020 as part of the inaugural NSA Samuel Wharry Memorial Award for the Next Generation .
Beneficiaries of the first award , Marie Prebble , a sheep farmer and shearer from Kent , and Charlie Beaty , a sheep and arable farmer from Warwickshire , received in excess of £ 2,000 each at the beginning of 2019 , allowing plans to be made for study trips exploring different aspects of sheep production .
2019 / 2020 was the first year the award was presented following the launch of the travel bursary in memory of Samuel Wharry , who sadly passed away while partway through his term as NSA Chairman in 2017 . Mr Wharry , a sheep farmer from Northern Ireland , was an advocate of science and technology in farming and the bursary , generously
FARM NEWS 7
First recipients of NSA travel bursary to reveal findings from exploratory trips
supported by the Staple , was created to share his enthusiasm with the next generation of sheep farmers .
Stephen Fell of the Staple says : “ We have been delighted to support Marie Prebble and Charlie Beaty in their journeys of discovery looking at important topics in various parts of the UK and the world . I myself derived tremendous benefit from leaving the home / work environment behind in my early working life , seeing what other people were doing in different countries and bringing back fresh ideas . I ’ m sure the messages these two brought back will benefit our hugely important sheep and wool ”.
Marie chose to travel to France , Norway , Iceland and parts of the UK , using her bursary to investigate best practice at shearing time , both improving animal welfare and wool presentation . Marie says : “ Knowledge of best practice at shearing time can definitely be improved among UK farmers and shearing contractors to the benefit of sheep welfare and to promote a better image of the shearing industry . My study allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding best practice from the perspective of a wide range of farmers in different environments . I now plan to continue with a keen interest several areas of further work highlighted during my trips .”
Travelling to the Southern Hemisphere , Charlie visited farms in New Zealand to investigate grassland management and how improvement and utilisation of permanent pasture can be used to reduce production costs . Charlie comments : “ I thoroughly enjoyed being able to see how different farms prioritised different aspects of the businesses and how management styles varied . But all farms adopted a strict grazing strategy aiming to maintain grass quality , reduce residual grazing and address parasite challenges to get the best out of their land .”
Following the success of the first travel bursaries , NSA is pleased to announce plans to work again with The Staple to offer the opportunity for two more
young sheep farmers to benefit again from the NSA Samuel Wharry award . It is hoped applications for the second presentation of the bursary will be open for future exciting study trips as soon as the current Covid-19 pandemic allows for the promotion of safe travel .
NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker adds : “ NSA is so pleased to be able to commit to the continuation of this award in memory of our friend and colleague Samuel . We really believe opportunities such as those made possible by this bursary are important in helping to motivate and inspire the next generation of sheep farmers . At a time when change could have a major impact on our sheep industry , it is important to be positive and look to the future . Study trips such as this are an effective way of doing so .”
The full written reports from both study trips are now available to view on the NSA Next Generation website , https :// www . nationalsheep . org . uk / next-generation / travel-bursary /
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