Extra funding is now available for agriculture students in the South West. Both further and higher education students are invited to apply for a Cornish Mutual Young Farmer Bursary to support their studies.

The Higher Education Bursary of £750 is open to any student studying an agriculture-based Level five or six course at University Centre Somerset and Duchy College.

Further Education Bursaries of £500 are available to students studying an agriculture-based Level one, two or three course at Bicton College, Bridgwater & Taunton College (Cannington Campus), Duchy College, and Kingston Maurward College.

In each category, one bursary is awarded per college and students must be enrolled to study during the 2024-2025 academic year. In addition, the 2024 Cornish Mutual South West Agricultural Student of the Year will be selected from the bursary recipients.

Last year Duchy College student Isabella Rhodes was the first to receive this new award having secured a Higher Education bursary: “The bursary has helped me continue my studies and focus in on my chosen career in the bovine industry.”

Previous bursary winners, such as Oscar Wallace-Cook, have used the funds to support course-associated costs: “The bursary helped me purchase IT equipment so I could learn at home and helped towards the travel costs of going to and from Bicton each week.”

Applicants are asked to submit either a 500-word essay, 20-image photo essay or two-minute video or podcast on the following subjects:

Higher Education bursary: ‘How do you see the future of agriculture, and what role do you hope to play?’

Further Education bursary: ‘Why I am studying agriculture’

“Supporting the next generation of farmers is crucial to the future of agriculture in the South West,” says Peter Beaumont, Cornish Mutual Managing Director. “Our Young Farmer Bursaries support the development of young people in the industry and we are looking forward to once again celebrating their enthusiasm for its future.”

Entries are open now and close at midnight on November 22, 2024. To find out more and to apply, visit the Cornish Mutual website.