MINUTES

OFTHE MEETING OF THE

SELECTION COMMITTEE

OF THE NUFFIELD FARMING SCHOLARSHIPS TRUST

HELD ON 6th– 8th OCTOBER 2014AT THE NUFFIELD FOUNDATION

(28 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3JS)

Present: / Stephen Watkins (SW) – Chair
Wallace Hendrie (WH) (Vice Chair)
Allan Buckwell
Dorothy Fairburn
Jim Godfrey / Apologies:
Nil
In attendance throughout:
Mike Vacher (MV) – Director and Secretary
Poey Vacher - Assistant to Director.
In Attendance for Certain Applicants:
Representing:
Alan & Anne Beckett Award
BEMB Trust
Central Region Farmers Trust
Dartington Cattle Breeding Trust
EBLEX
MacRobert Trust
Micron Bio Systems
National Trust
Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland
Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association
Royal Welsh Agricultural Society
South of England Agricultural Society
Thomas Henry Foundation
Trehane Trust
Worshipful Company of Butchers / Oliver Surman NSch
James King NSch
Duncan Priestner
Aled Griffiths NSch
Simon Weaver NSch
Dick Sibley
Clive Brown
Doug Fowlie
Mark Cox
Patrick Begg
John Mackie NSch
Louis Baugh NSch
Roger Perkins
Ann Tyrell
Michael Griffiths
John Alvis NSch
Nicole Lander
Gwyn Howells
Bob Brocksbank
Item / Topic / Action
1 / Pre Meeting. The Selection Committee held informal discussions on Sunday 5th October to review the procedures and details of the process.
2 / Minutes of the Selections held on 14th – 16th October 2013.
These minutes were approved.
3 / Matters arising from the Minutes.
It was confirmed that all matters arising were included in the following items.
4 / a.
b. / Application Process.
Aide Memoire. The Selectors formally approved the Aide Memoire of the Application and Selection Process as attached to these minutes.
Submission of References. Difficulties in receiving references on time were discussed. The Director noted that so many applications were received at the last possible moment that Referees had little chance to submit their references by the due date. He explained that he intended amending the on line instructions to emphasise the importance of giving time for this.
5 / Selection of Winning Scholar’s Reports for the HSBC Salver.
Selectors chose the winning report by a clear majority to be announced at the 2014Nuffield Farming Conference.
6 / Declarations of interest.
Selectors reviewed the list of applicants and declared the following potential conflicts of interest:
-Stephen Watkins: Holly Beckett who he knows.
-Jim Godfrey: Paul Fishpool who he knows.
7 / Results of Selection. The following individuals were selected as 2014 Nuffield Scholars with their sponsors subsequently being confirmed:
Kate Adams (Herefordshire, Central) 'How is a passion for preserving soil instilled in modern farmers? From birth, fear, education or regulation?' kindly sponsoredby the 'Three Counties Agricultural Society'.
Trevor Alcorn (Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland) 'Sustainable Dairy Farming - Does the family farm have a future?' kindly sponsored by the 'Thomas Henry Foundation'.
Holly Beckett (Birmingham, West Midlands) 'Growing a Successful Family Business through Growing People' kindly sponsored by the 'David Allen Charitable Trust'
Jonty Brunyee (Gloucestershire, Central) 'Making the most of Environmental Assets - Sustainable Enterprise on Farms with High Natural Value' kindly sponsored by the 'National Trust'
Aled Davies (Carmarthenshire, Wales) 'Alternatives to antibiotics in agriculture' kindly sponsored by the 'Royal Welsh Agricultural Society'
Illtud 'Bob' Dunsford (Carmarthenshire, Wales) 'A review of traditional native pig breeds and the processing of value added premium products' kindly sponsored by the 'John Oldacre Foundation'
Paul Fishpool (Cambridgeshire, Anglia) 'Maximising Efficiency within the UK Sugar Beet Industry Supply Chain' kindly sponsored by the 'Richard Lawes Foundation'
Robert Fleming (Wigtownshire, Scotland) 'Efficiency Gains Through Improved Beef Genetics' kindly sponsored by 'Alan and Anne Beckett'
Sophia Hepple (Somerset, South West) 'Early nutrition of the artificially reared calf, from birth through to weaning' kindly sponsored by 'EBLEX'
Patrick Hook (Oxfordshire, Central) '2050: The challenges and opportunities to the UK Broiler Industry' kindly sponsored by the 'Central Region Farmers Trust'
Andy Howard (Kent, South East) 'Potential for Companion Cropping in UK arable systems' kindly sponsored by the 'HGCA'
Aled Jones (Carmarthenshire, Wales) 'The role of agricultural societies and shows in promoting, developing and innovating the agricultural industry' the 2015 Young Nuffield (Bob Matson) Scholar
Aidan Leek (Herefordshire, Central) 'Insect Protein and the Layer Industry. Potential Input or Product' kindly sponsored by 'Micron Bio Systems'
Chris Lloyd (Herefordshire, Central) 'Improving financial management for the small farmer' kindly sponsored by the 'John Oldacre Foundation'
Neil McGowan (Perthshire, Scotland) 'Managing Large Scale Breeding Programs - Beef and Sheep' kindly sponsored by the 'Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland'
Aarun Naik (Merseyside, Northern) 'Agro-psychology: How can we support and improve the emotional & psychological well-being of farmers?' kindly sponsored by the 'John Oldacre Foundation'
Christopher Padfield (Gloucestershire, Central) 'Post Formal Education - nurturing and growing talent?' kindly sponsored by the 'Central Region Farmers Trust'
Seth Pascoe (Cornwall, South West) 'Advancing British seabuckthorn (hippophae rhamnoides) production by evaluating international agronomic practices' kindly sponsored by NFU Mutual.
Steven Sandison (Orkney, Scotland) 'Are benchmarking targets for suckler cows achievable in island areas?' kindly sponsored by the 'MacRobert Trust'
Dafydd Saunders Jones (Powys, Wales) 'Delivery and Impacts of bovine TB Eradication Across Europe' kindly sponsored by the 'Dartington Cattle Breeding Trust'
Doug Wanstall (Kent, South East) 'Free Range Egg Production, building resilience and Managing the transition into a mainstream, commodity market place' kindly sponsored by the 'South of England Agricultural Society'
Oliver White (Somerset, South West) 'Grassfed; where is the UK revolution?' kindly sponsored by the 'Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust' – titled the '2015 Clyde Higgs Nuffield Farming Scholarship'.
Gordon Whiteford (Moray, Scotland) 'Improving bird welfare on free-range systems' kindly sponsored by the 'BEMB Research and Education Trust'.
8 / a. / Any Other Business.
Dates of Next Selection Process: It is [proposed that] or [confirmed that] the following dates in 2015will form the Selection Process:
-Friday 31st July: Applications Close.
-Monday 10th August: Applications sent to Selectors.
-Tuesday 25th August: Shortlisting Applicants for interview.
-5th – 7th October: Selection Interviews.
-Friday 9th October: Announcement of 2016 NSchs.
-Friday 16th October: Announcement of 2016 NSchs Sponsors. / Director

Mike Vacher 28th October 2014

Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust

Selection CommitteeMINUTESfor 6th– 8th October 2014Page 1

NUFFIELD FARMING SCHOLARSHIPS TRUST (NFST) - AIDE MEMOIRE OF SELECTION PROCESS

1. Introduction. This notes seeks to provide an aide-memoire of the selection process of Nuffield Farming Scholars (NSch) for the guidance of the Selection Committee, Scholar Sponsors and the applicants themselves. It follows a chronological order of events.

2. Applications. All applications are submitted electronically via the NFST website ( by the closing date of 31st July. In exceptional cases with just reason the Director may allow a short extension but not beyond the date on which applicants are selected for interview.

3. Selection Committee. The Selection Committee has 5 members: Chair and Vice Chair of Trustees and 3 independent members from the agricultural community at least two of whom are not a NSch (e.g. in 2014: Stephen Watkins and Wallace Hendrie with: Allan Buckwell, Dorothy Fairburn and Jim Godfrey). Independent Members serve for an initial term of 3 years which may be extended for one further term only. The NFST Director is in attendance, acts as Secretary and is the link between the Committee, applicants and Sponsors.

4. Selection for Interview. Soon after the closing date all applications will be forwarded to all members of the Selection Committee for their perusal. The Committee then meets at an early date (e.g. 26th August 2014) to select those applicants to be invited for interview using the following process:

a. Applicants are listed alphabetically and reviewed individually;

b. Each is assessed for suitability for interview by each member of the Selection Committee individually: ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Possibly’ - or scored out of 5. These are collated by the Director to provide an initial assessment;

c. Any application for which there is no clear decision is then discussed until a consensus is reached;

d. When the number of applicants deserving interview exceeds the capacity of the 2½ days available for interview (approximately 40) a further review is conducted to provide an order of merit against which a final decision is made;

e. All applicants are provided with the results of this assessment by letter and those unsuccessful are provided with feedback on the reason(s) they were not selected for interview.

5. Initial Discussions with Scholar Sponsors. The Director in consultation with the Chair, now drafts an outline allocation of the applicants chosen for interview to Sponsors - with the aim of providing the maximum numbers of potential scholars to each Sponsor. This is based on a variety of factors but, in particular, speciality, study topic, area of UK, subject and, to a certain extent, age and background. The applications, less references, are then forwarded to potential sponsors for confirmation that they would be prepared to countenance the individual(s) becoming their sponsored NSch if given an award. Also, at this time the availability of Sponsors’ Representatives to attend interviews is confirmed.

6. Planning Interviews. The dates of the interviews are circulated well in advance so that applicants and Sponsors Representatives can be available. Even so, given the variety of possible applicant -Sponsor combinations and last minute commitments coordinating the interview timetable can become a challenge. Despite best efforts, it is not always possible to match the times of interviews of all potential scholars with all their potentialSponsors’ Representatives.

7. Conduct of Interviews. Full guidelines for the conduct of interviews are given to each member of the Selection Committee which encompasses the following. The selection process is intended to find individuals that aspire to and share a desire to lead change for the better in all areas of the agricultural, horticultural, forestry and associated industries as well as reflecting the Trust’s values. These are: building knowledge through global experience; sharing brilliant ideas; making things happen; developing tomorrow’s leaders and inspiring commitment. Each applicant is allotted 20 minutes which allows for a comprehensive interview:

a. Beforehand applicants are welcomed by the Director’s Assistant, who offers refreshments and completes any administrative details;

b. Conflicts of interest are identified in advance. Where a Member or Representative has had connections with the applicant he/she will not lead the interview or ask questions. Where the applicant is known well the Member/Representative will withdraw;

c. Applicants are introduced to the Committee and any Sponsors’ Representatives by the Director;

d. Members of the Committee take it in turns to lead the interviews, beginning the questioning and guiding proceedings so that these run to time;

e. Towards the end of each interview and time permitting any Sponsors’ Representatives present are invited to ask a question.

f. Once the applicant has left Sponsors’ Representatives will be asked to confirm whether they are willing or not to sponsor the potential scholar and if they have any preference if more than one is available.

8. Scoring of Applicants after Interview. At the end of each group of interviews Committee Members will score applicants as follows:

a. Each Member assesses whether the individual demonstrates the qualities of a NSch: ‘Yes’, ‘No’, ‘Possibly’ - or scored out of 5. These assessments are collated to provide an initial overall assessment;

b. Each Member then scores the applicant’s overall suitability for an award out of a maximum mark of 20. These scores are then totalled as a percentage.

c. At the end of all the interviews the scores are placed in order of merit and a mark identified below which no award will be made;

d. Those achieving that mark or higher are then reviewed further in order to confirm that:

(1). Members of the Committee agree that the applicant does demonstrate the qualities of a NSch;

(2). The applicant’s study topic merits and will obtain sponsorship.

e. The total number of those applicants thereby justifying an award are then compared to theSponsors available to confirm the final number of awards to be made.

9. Subsequent Actions:

a. Immediately after the final decisions on awards are made letters are sent to all applicants to: advise them of their award or to inform them that they have not been successful and/or to encourage them to apply again;

b. The Director, in consultation with the Chair, then develops the final allocation of new NSchs to Scholar Sponsors. This will normally reflect the discussions prior to and during the interviews, however, there may be occasions where further consultation with sponsors is required to align scholars with sponsors. It is desirable for Sponsors to respect the sensitivities of this process and desist from making advance announcements of their own;

c. All NSchs and Scholar Sponsors receive a letter advising them of their respective scholar/sponsor and encouraging the new NSch to make early contact;

d. Finally, the list of new NSchs and their Sponsors is promulgated by mass email and press release. Thereafter, local publicity arranged by sponsors and/or NSchs is encouraged. Ends

Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust

Selection CommitteeMINUTESfor 6th– 8th October 2014Page 1