Old Mill sponsored 'West Country Dairy Awards' winner announced

The winner of the 2022 West Country Dairy Awards is 21-year-old Josh Thorne from South Molton.
Following his Business & Management degree at Exeter University, Josh’s Master’s dissertation will involve conducting a national study of agricultural labour shortages. He hopes to add value to the industry by highlighting issues within the labour supply chain. Josh, stood out because he had picked a topic for study that will have benefits across the dairy sector and beyond with his focus on recruiting and retaining staff – a problem felt across the whole economy.’

The West Country Dairy Awards were established in 1925 to provide grants to people studying dairy-related training courses. This year the charitable organisation distributed over £16,000 to young people looking to further their skills within the dairy industry. The awards are open to anyone living in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset or Dorset.

20 applicants were interviewed at county level with the best six chosen to move on to the Finals Day. In addition to Josh, the other five finalists were: Imogen Greenway (Somerset), Jack Howard (Somerset), Tamsin Knowles (Cornwall), Becca Langford (Dorset), and Ellen Layzell (Devon). The applicants came from 9 different colleges/Universities:- Aberystwyth University, University of Reading, University of Exeter, Bridgwater & Taunton College, The Duchy College, Harper Adams University, Newcastle University, University of Surrey, and University of Göttingen.