IT MIGHT have been a challenging year for arable farmer, but a group of Aberdeen students have proved outstanding in their field after winning the biggest ever SRUC/Mains of Loirston 'Winter wheat challenge'.

Organised by Scotland’s Rural College and sponsored by the Mains of Loirston Charitable Trust, this year’s competition featured 20 teams of more than 70 students from SRUC campuses. The winners, who have all recently completed their studies at SRUC’s Aberdeen campus, were announced at this week's AgriScot.

The team consisted of: Timur Kharisov, Heather Duff and Helen Parker, along with Emma Parvin, Joanne Breese and Ashleigh Nelson, who all studied Rural Business Management.

This competition encourages the next generation of farmers and agronomists by giving them their own plots of winter wheat to manage with the winners achieving the best gross margin return from their crop. Each entry is replicated on three sites, in Aberdeenshire, Fife and Midlothian and are managed by SRUC.

Not only did this year’s teams have to contend with each other, but they also faced additional challenges in the form of wet conditions and, in Fife, an attack of nematodes, with a significant impact on crop yield.

The winners reduced costs by using low rates of fungicides and moderate amounts of nitrogen fertiliser, resulting in the highest yield of 10.7 tonnes per ha at SRUC’s Bush Estate and an offer of £148 per tonne from East Lothian grain merchants, WN Lindsay, where the trial site samples were sent.

Team captain, Timur, who moved to Scotland from Moscow in 2003, was thrilled to land the prize at the third attempt. He now hopes to pursue a career in agronomy and said: “It was very exciting to win the challenge, especially as I knew this would be my last chance! We chose Skyfall – a breadmaking variety – as it’s known as a good yielder and for its resilience. It looks like we made a good choice.”

Heather, who lives in Brechin, added: “It was a really strong competition this year, so we were really surprised to win. The Winter Wheat Challenge has been running for a long time so it’s a real honour to take first prize.”

Co-ordinator, Scott Murray, team leader for the Rural Business Management teaching team at SRUC Edinburgh, said: “For many of our students, the Winter Wheat Challenge is the first time they have had to make agronomic decisions. There is a great deal to consider, from inputs like seed, fungicide and fertiliser as well as the final market for their crop, milling or feed. This year’s competition was particularly tough, so huge congratulations go to the winners.”