NSA searches for the Next Generation of the sheep sector
1st December 2015
The UK sheep sector needs innovative, enthusiastic and professional young people to take it forward - and that is why NSA Next Generation is on the lookout for NSA Ambassadors for 2016. The deadline for applications is approaching fast, on Friday 4th December.
Successful NSA Next Generation Ambassador applicants will be invited to take part in five delivery sessions, each over two or three days, throughout the year. These involve everything from practical sessions and tutorial activities to specialist visits and farm walks. Up to 12 Ambassadors are selected each year from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so the programme also provides a great opportunity to meet like-minded young individuals within the sheep sector to share ideas and experiences.
Harry Frederick, an NSA Next Generation Ambassador in 2015, says: “I would ridiculously recommend applying to the NSA Ambassador scheme for next year. Aside from being great fun, this year taught me so much and given me a real confidence to grow my own sheep business in a positive direction. The group received a lot of helpful advice from experts across the industry and were given so many opportunities to ask questions to people who had been there and done it before.”
The 2016 group will be the third of their kind, following the launch of the initiative in 2014, and the programme aims to challenge the group to think objectively about their own businesses and the wider farming industry. Alongside the development of personal skills, it also aims to develop the sheep sector as a whole. A number of Ambassadors from previous years have got involved with their NSA regional committee, as well as lending a hand and getting involved with some of the many NSA events held each year.
Harry concludes: “I feel like I am no longer farming for farming's sake, and I’ve gained a whole load of contacts to check in on over the next few months, which I’ll have with me for years to come now. It will really open your eyes to innovative and entrepreneurial ways of farming sheep –so get applying!”
Don’t just take Harry’s word for it! Many of the 2014 and 2015 Ambassadors came together to make a video promoting the programme – check it out at www.youtube.com/user/natsheepassoc.
Apply for the NSA Next Generation Ambassador Group at www.nsanextgeneration.org.uk; applications close on Friday 4th December. NSA Next Generation is funded by the NSA regions and the Ambassador group is generously supported by a number of delivery partners.
Notes to editors:-
For more information contact Hannah Park, NSA Communications Officer, on 01684 892661 or hannah@nationalsheep.org.uk
The National Sheep Association is an organisation that represents the views and interests of sheep producers throughout the UK. It is funded by its membership of sheep farmers and its activities involve it in every aspect of the sheep industry. More at www.nationalsheep.org.uk and www.nsanextgeneration.org.uk.
