Rhys Williams

2010 Trehane Trust scholar - Co Owner/Director of Padog Farms Ltd managing 1500 crossbred cows grass based.

STUDY:
Wealth Creation in equity dairy farm partnerships Ireland, USA Chile, Uruguay, New Zealand and France

“The Trehane award gave me a broader outlook, pushing the more comfortable, rigid thinking to one side. My own business benefitted from me being away and handing over more responsibility to others and from ideas I have subsequently implemented as a result of my travels.”

Rhys set out to look at farm business structures that encourage and enable expansion and rapid wealth creation in low input grass based systems. Across the world, he saw that people management skills are key to success.

“Every farm has milking facilities, cows and grass, but one thing that makes them all different is the people and how they are managed. On my return it came apparent to me that the UK is a fantastic place to produce low cost milk. The opportunities in the UK at present are limitless.”

Kevin Beaty

2010 Trehane Trust scholar - Dairy farmer, Ivegill, Cumbria

DairyCo board member and chairman of its research advisory forum.

STUDY:
Consumer attitudes to milk USA, China, Australia, NZ and India.

“What an opportunity! There’s so much to gain – personally and for the benefit of the industry. It gave me confidence in the UK dairy industry - to invest time and money in for the future.”

Kevin’s aim was to unlock consumers’ views of milk production and share his discoveries with the British dairy industry. From the home market to those further afield, he found that consumers’ knowledge of milk production was limited but they trusted the product. However, this ‘bubble of trust’, created through the supply of a consistently high quality product and a marketing image, could easily be burst should a health scare break, for example.

“Overall though I could see that the UK dairy industry is one of the best in the world technically and from an environmental perspective we are well ahead of the game compared with others. It gave me confidence in the UK dairy industry - to invest time and money in for the future"

Emma Jones

2005 Trehane Trust scholar - Dairy Agricultural Manager, Tesco

STUDY:
Generic Marketing of Milk California USA, New Zealand, Australia, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark

“What seems like a simple study – ‘generic marketing of milk’ – turned out to be very complex with many challenges around the world. It was enlightening for me and for the dairy industry here in the UK to see how a number of countries were tackling these challenges. Trehane opened a lot of doors for me within the industry.”

It became clear to Emma that the generic message to consumers must be positive, clear, easily understood and have a positive impact on dairy product consumption. And whilst different countries have their own nutritional needs, she concluded that the generic global message for milk has to carry an element of pleasure, shifting solely from that of health and nutrition with these elements – that are still important – being introduced at a local level.

“The environment, nutrition and welfare are global challenges that lie ahead for the dairy industry. And consumers are increasingly concerned about food miles with an escalating awareness of provenance. This should give us confidence here in the UK as we have a good story to tell.”

Sara Gregson

2006 Trehane Trust scholar

Agricultural PR and Marketing Consultant

STUDY:
Encouraging pastoral livestock farmers to make better use of their grassland Denmark, New Zealand, Canafe and Australia

“Personally, the experience gave me confidence, contacts and credibility. I brought back many new ideas that I have been able to communicate through the industry. The Trehane award opened a lot of doors abroad and at home.”

Sara set out to find ways to encourage UK farmers to turn more of their grass into milk and meat.

‘I have been able to set up a scheme similar to one I saw in Canada and BGS Grazing Partners was launched in 2009. It equips proficient grassland farmers so they can mentor others who are less confident – so they too can reap the financial rewards of better grassland utilisation.’