Agriculture student wins Cornish Mutual Young Farmer Bursary

Agriculture full-time student Oscar Wallace-Cook has been awarded a Cornish Mutual Young Farmer Further Education Bursary.

The judges said Oscar stood out for his ambition to run his own dairy enterprise, demonstrated by his commitment to both his academic studies and work experience on a local dairy and beef farm. He has received a bursary of £500 to support costs related to his Level 3 course in General Agriculture.

In his application, Oscar said: “I plan to use what I have learnt at Bicton to help me in my work experience placement and in my later life where I plan to run or own my own farming business. I’m keen to become a dairy farmer supplying direct to the customer. Whilst this would be difficult and ambitious, I believe it could be achievable as customers like to know where their products are coming from.”

As in previous years, the farming insurance experts have awarded four Cornish Mutual Young Farmer Further Education Bursaries to students studying at agricultural colleges across the South West. Building on the success of these bursaries, the latest awards were expanded to include bursaries for students studying a Level 5 or 6 course together with one bursary winner selected to become the overall Cornish Mutual South West Agricultural Student of the Year.

Applicants for the Further Education bursaries were asked to explain ‘Why I am studying agriculture’ with entries judged by a panel including Cornish Mutual Managing Director Peter Beaumont.

“We were once again delighted to receive a number of high quality applications for our bursaries,” said Peter. “Oscar displayed ambitious plans to start his own dairy business, despite coming from a non-farming background.”

The Cornish Mutual Young Farmer Bursaries are part of the Future Farming Programme, which supports the future of agriculture in the region. To find out more, visit: https://www.cornishmutual.co.uk/cmfuturefarming/young-farmer-bursaries/