Jack Cooper has been announced as the winner of this year’s AgriScot Business Skills competition, receiving a £1000 cash prize.

Jack is in his fourth year of the BSc Agriculture course at SRUC Aberdeen and combines his studies with part time work on a local farm. In entering the competition, Jack was looking to further develop his business management skills to add to his extensive on farm experience in both the arable and livestock sectors. His long-term goal is to work as a farm manager.

Jack commented on winning the top award: “Making the final was great. I’d definitely recommend the experience, it’s added to my skills and helped highlight changes and opportunities in the industry.”

The final saw the competitors tasked with assessing the value and relevance of new product 'AHV Agri-Pharma', a new antibiotic-free option in the fight against pathogenic bacteria in dairy cows.

They then presented their findings to the judging panel of George Baikie of SAC Consulting, Ian Hope of Galbraiths, and John Kinnaird of AgriScot and were asked a range of questions on business skills, topical agricultural issues and their CV development.

The other two finalists for the 2019 competition were Martin Flood and Sarah Hodge. Martin is from a family beef farm in Co. Monaghan in Ireland and is in his third year of the BSc Agriculture course at SRUC Ayr. He has a keen interest in grassland management and has gained valuable experience milking on local dairy farms.

Sarah hails from a family farm in East Lothian and is in her fourth year of Rural Business Management at SRUC Edinburgh. On completion of her course, she is aiming for a career in land management, having already completed a summer placement with Galbraith.

The competition was sponsored by Dairymaster UK for a second year, and supported by SAYFC and SRUC.