We interview Farm Vet Laura, who tells us about how she has won the Nuffield Farm Scholarship and what this entails.
In November, Farm Vet Laura Eden became the third of the Bishopton Farm Team to be awarded the prestigious Nuffield Farm Scholarship. We sat down with Laura and found out more.
What is the Nuffield Farming Scholarship?
Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust is a registered charity with an aim to inspire passion in people and develop their potential to lead positive change in farming and food. They award life-changing scholarships that unlock individual potential and broaden horizons through study and travel overseas, with a view to developing the farming and agricultural industries.
Each year Nuffield Farming Scholarships are awarded to approximately 20 deserving individuals working in farming, horticulture, forestry or any other countryside and ancillary industry – or are in a position to influence those who do. The first scholarships were awarded in 1947 and since then over 1,000 Nuffield Scholars have completed their studies and travel to make an impact on farming and food.
How do you apply and what was your special area of interest?
The application process involves an online submission including duties and responsibilities of employment, professional and personal ambitions or aspirations, participation in wider industry/community activities, experience of writing, broadcasting, or public speaking.
The study title for the proposed subject and the initial travel plan (which countries you’d like to visit and for how long!) The selectors are also looking for evidence of understanding of your chosen topic and preparation for its in-depth study.
After being shortlisted from the 95 applicants, 41 were invited for interview in London… and then 24 successful scholars were awarded a Nuffield!
Soo… why goats?!
When faced with the recent opportunity to work with a commercial dairy goat herd, I approached the challenge with enthusiasm, and I have subsequently developed a keen interest and enthusiasm for milking goats.
Working as a ruminant vet has highlighted to me that goats are often an over-looked species in British farming, yet one that plays a significant role in worldwide farming. This inspired me to apply for a Nuffield Scholarship to increase the appreciation and awareness of dairy goats and exhibit their value within British agriculture.
By exploring the factors that contribute to a more resilient dairy goat, I am looking forward to learning more about how the goat dairy industry can utilise these factors in order to improve efficiency, sustainability and overall healthier production animals. By resilience, I am not only referring to the individual animals within the herd, but also considering the resilience of the industry as a whole.
Dairy goats deserve recognition as production animals, and the multitude of factors driving their resilience are playing a considerable role towards the species’ success. With a greater understanding of this, I am hoping to accumulate my findings and apply them directly within the UK dairy goat industry.
The Nuffield Farming Scholarship allows you to travel to research your topic – where are you going, what are your plans?
The opportunity to travel outside of my comfort zone and leave the safety and unpredictable weather of the North Yorkshire farms, will allow me to experience how this industry is operating on a global scale. Travel plans currently include New Zealand, Norway, The Netherlands, France and Greece. I am looking forward to travelling to these countries to meet like-minded people and understand firsthand how their goat dairy production systems differ and compare to ours in the UK.
France, Greece and Spain are responsible for three quarters of total goat milk production in the EU. The Netherlands have combatted recent outbreaks and challenges in their national goat herd – facing and overcoming Coxiella (Q fever) and Bluetongue virus. Norway established a national program in 2001 to eradicate CAE (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis virus), CLA (Caseous lymphadenitis), and Johne's disease. While farms in New Zealand are working in collaboration with and directly connected to a UK dairy goat producer and processor.
You’re not the first Bishopton vet to become a Nuffield Scholar – tell us more about that
Neil Eastham was a 2018 scholar, studying how UK dairy farmers can use genomics to breed a better herd, and Miles Middleton in 2022 investigated sustainability in the dairy sector. With myself as a 2025 scholar exploring the factors that contribute to improving the overall resilience of our dairy goats, to our knowledge, this makes us the only independently owned veterinary practice in the world with three Nuffield Farming Scholars!
What advice would you have for others, thinking about completing a Nuffield Farming Scholarship?
Go for it! Be bold and ambitious – look and think outside the box. If you’re passionate about a topic, you could be the next Nuffield Farming Scholar. Ultimately, how will your topic benefit British agriculture?
Our hearty congratulations to Laura - well deserved and we look forward to reading her research next year.