Stuart Nicholls and Tom Atkins from the Agribusiness team were awarded runner-up for their entry in the competition, run by Agrihive.
The competition was established to tackle crisis points in the farming industry by using ‘disruptive innovation’.
Participants were invited to review an existing dairy farm, Kidworth Dairy Farm, and to come up with a clear strategy to drive its future.
The judges found Stuart and Tom’s entry to be a compelling attack on costs, which involved comparing the case study with the top and bottom quartile of British dairy farmers.
Stuart says: “The case study was very well constructed and we really enjoyed looking through it and trying to solve the issues.”
Joining Stuart and Tom on the trip to the Australian Outback will be competition winner Paul Barrow, from Cumbria, and food and farming journalist Philippa Hall, formally a presenter at Sky News.
The trip is being hosted by Agrihive’s founder, James Walker, an Australian entrepreneur and fifth-generation Western Queensland farmer who recently visited the UK and witnessed first-hand the struggles of UK dairying.
Following the competition, the Agrihive UK team will be producing a paper with all of the entries included.
“We really need to improve the situation the UK’s dairy farmers are facing right now,” the Agrihive collective announced. “Just one of these ideas might kick a thought into action and save a family farm.”
Pictured: Left to right – Stuart Nicholls and Tom Atkins
