CRAIG STOUT has been announced as this year's winner of the AgriScot Business Skills competition.

The third year agriculture student at SRUC Edinburgh business management skills and knowledge of agri-business issues impressed the judges on the day to take home the coveted title and £1000 cash prize.

For this year, to coincide with the Nuffield Farming Conference taking place in Glasgow, the day after AgriScot, the event directors also agreed to add a special prize, giving Craig the opportunity to attend the conference.

Commenting on his success, Mr Stout said: “Winning the Business Skills Award was a big shock, but I was really happy to hear my name called. It’s been a very worthwhile experience and a great opportunity – I’d advise anyone thinking about going for it next year to take the chance.”

He continued: “I learnt a lot during the process, and it was great having to work under pressure- something which I’m not used to, but I think will be relevant in the future.”

The final saw the four competitors judged on the task of assessing the value and relevance of an innovative product or service showcased at AgriScot. This year, it was the automated mobility scoring system CowAlert from IceRobotics.

The other three finalists for the 2018 competition, which was sponsored by Dairymaster UK Ltd, and supported by SAYFC and SRUC, were:

• Hollie Cruikshank – a fourth year agriculture student at SRUC Aberdeen, from Grantown-on-Spey.

• Ian Buchanan –a fourth year agriculture student at SRUC Aberdeen, from Kinross.

• Alasdair Allan – a third year agriculture student at SRUC Edinburgh, from Linlithgow.

Chris Howarth of sponsors, Dairymaster UK Ltd concluded: “One of our initiatives is to encourage youth and the future generation within the agricultural industry, so sponsoring the Business Skills Award seemed like a perfect fit. Supporting the industry and seeing young people like Craig grow and succeed within farming is essential to the future of agriculture.

“One of our initiatives is to encourage youth and the future generation within the agricultural industry, so sponsoring the Business Skills Award seemed like a perfect fit. Supporting the industry and seeing young people like Craig grow and succeed within farming is essential to the future of agriculture.”