The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) has awarded funding for six candidates to attend the Women in Food and Agriculture Summit.
Taking place in Frankfurt, Germany from 14-15 June, the funding will provide the opportunity for the chosen candidates to network and learn from other women working across the worldwide food and agricultural sector.
The candidates supported by this award, which continues RHASS’s ongoing support of Women in Agricultural Scotland (WiAS), went through an application process to outline how the Summit will benefit them and the sector. They will report back upon their return detailing key outcomes and actions which will support their business and the wider sector.
The successful candidates are:
Alix Ritchie
Alix farms in Perthshire with husband John and is Health and Education Manager for Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), being passionate about educating the public about where their food comes from. Previously, Alix was a Project Coordinator for Perth and Kinross Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) and has also worked for Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) as East Regional Coordinator.
Judith Taylor
Judith runs a mixed farm in partnership with her father near Turriff in Aberdeenshire. After studying agriculture at Aberdeen University and working for a short time at the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID), Judith set up her own farm consultancy business, and still has a small number of customers she helps with book keeping and keeping cattle records. Judith also attended the Women In Agriculture ‘Be Your Best Self’ pilot course just before the first lockdown in 2020.
Chloe Stewart
Chloe is a 22-year-old sixth generation (third generation female) crofter from Gills, Caithness. Having graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture last year, Chloe is excited to learn more about what can be done to help the crofting community be more sustainable and efficient.
Heather Wildman
Originally from Cumbria, Heather has lived in Scotland for over 21 years. She is Managing Director of Saviour Associates, which focuses on helping individuals and businesses identify their goals, mission, vision and values; how and who they can communicate this to; and how to build up the right team with the right skills to achieve and deliver this.
(From left) Alix Ritchie, Carole Brunton and Lesley Mitchell
Lesley Mitchell
Lesley farms in partnership with her husband and son on their organic beef, venison and arable farm near Hawick in the Scottish Borders. She also works off the farm part time as a Quality Assurance Specialist with Quality Meat Scotland.
Carole Brunton
Carole lives with husband Ian at mixed sheep and arable Balmonth Farm in the East Neuk of Fife. Working for RHET as Project Coordinator in Fife for almost 20 years, Carole is also on the Women in Agriculture Scotland Committee as well as being President of Fife & Kinross Young Farmers.
RHASS chairman Bill Gray, said: ‘RHASS is delighted to offer this opportunity to the six successful candidates. The Summit will be an invaluable platform for them to connect with like-minded individuals from across the globe, share best practice and be inspired.
RHASS chairman, Bill Gray
‘We are confident they will return from the Summit with fresh ideas to benefit their organisations, businesses and the sector as a whole in Scotland and look forward to hearing all about their experiences.’
Susan Lawrie, chair of the RHASS Public Relations and Education committee, commented: ‘The calibre of applicants was inspiring, and those who were selected represent a great mix of different agricultural backgrounds from all over Scotland.
‘We hope that other organisations will join us in sending their own representatives over to the Summit later this year so that we can see sector-wide benefits, and we can’t wait to hear about everyone’s experiences.’
Heather Wildman said: ‘I feel so lucky and honoured to be a part of this team travelling to Frankfurt to represent WiAS, RHASS and the sector at large. I cannot wait to meet more like-minded, inspirational people and brings these learnings back to Scotland.’
Judith Taylor added: ‘I was absolutely delighted to be selected by RHASS to attend the WFA Summit. I cannot wait to go to Germany in June, thank you to RHASS for giving me this amazing opportunity.’
Find out more about the awards and grants RHASS offers HERE.
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