A promising postgraduate agricultural student from Brecon has been selected to receive a ‘Centenary Award’ bursary from The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.

Frances Thomas was selected for the award to support her MSc in Agrifood Innovation at Aberystwyth University. Frances’ course will start in January and it will explore various opportunities in which the UK agrifood industry can move forward sustainably to tackle environmental challenges.

The Centenary Award was launched by rural insurer NFU Mutual to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2010; to support agricultural leaders of the future, and champion research and innovation within the industry. It provides annual bursaries to pay up to 75 per cent of course fees for selected postgraduate students in agriculture, and Frances was one of only three students from across the UK to have been chosen for the award in 2022.

Frances has a real passion for making a difference to the agricultural industry in her future career, and explained how the award will help her to achieve her ambitions:

“From a young age, I have been heavily involved with our family beef and sheep farm set in the heart of the Brecon Beacons," she said.

"I have also gained a variety of work experience across dairy and pig farms, and I now work in the poultry industry. I am passionate about playing a part in influencing the future of UK agriculture, I relish the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and advance my career position with the support of this prestigious award.”

Frances added: “This master’s course will provide me with knowledge and expertise of measuring environmental impacts and effective waste management strategies within food supply chains. I will also learn about innovative and efficient approaches in meat processing to provide consumers with safe, healthy and nutritious products. I am particularly interested in developing my knowledge and expertise in sustainability, and how agriculture and livestock farming can improve its position working towards reaching our net-zero targets.”

Announcing the award’s recipients for 2022, Jim McLaren MBE, NFU Mutual Chairman, said: “Our aim for the Centenary Award is to support promising individuals who are passionate about making a difference to the future of UK agriculture, and to champion their important areas of study.”

Mr McLaren added: “We are delighted to be supporting Frances’ postgraduate course with our Centenary Award bursary and wish her all the very best for her studies.”

Centenary Award bursaries will again be available in 2023. Applications for the award next year will be invited from the start of January. In the meantime, information about the scheme can be found on the NFU Mutual website nfumutual.co.uk, where you can search ‘Centenary Award’.

Prospective post graduate agricultural students who would like to find out more about the award can also contact [email protected]