Leading convenience retailer, Co-op is funding 40 young farmers and agricultural student spaces at this year’s British Cattle Breeder’s Conference.

The conference, which is taking place on the 22-24 January at the Telford Hotel and Golf Resort in Shropshire, is entitled ‘Green Genes – revolutionising cattle breeding for a sustainable future’ and will explore how breeding can help meet UK greening targets.

There is a stellar line-up of speakers, including internationally acclaimed farmers and academia.

Successful students and young farmers will be fully funded to attend one day at the conference – either beef day on 23 January or dairy day on the 24 January.  

Ten of these places will be offered through social media, with the remaining tickets awarded to universities and young farmers supplying Co-op.

To apply for through social media, applicants must be aged 18-26 and work in the agricultural industry or be studying agriculture at university. To apply, click here to complete the short form.

Applicants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

BCBC Chairman, Ben Harman, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity, and I would strongly urge all young farmers to apply.

“It is essential that the bovine industry, regardless of sector, does all we can to reduce the carbon footprint of our businesses and improve biodiversity on our farms. Through ingenuity and innovation by this generation and the next we can deliver on our goals.”

Joseph Keating, Senior Agriculture Manager at Co-op, said: “At Co-op, we’re proud to champion British agriculture and know that by working together we can secure a more sustainable future for farming. That’s why we’re thrilled to be supporting the next generation of farmers and industry leaders at this year’s conference.”

For more information about the conference and for the full conference programme, including the full list of speakers, view the conference programme pdf: https://www.cattlebreeders.org.uk/workspace/documents/bcbc-2024-green-genes-final-programme_1.pdf