YOUNG Mauchline farmer, Andrew Taylor, is one of four to reach the London final of a national dairy competition.

Andrew, from Lochhill Farm, is an agriculture student at the Riverside campus of Scotland’s Rural College and is in the second year of his degree course.

This week he travels with three other candidates to the Farmers Club in London for the final of the Dairy Student Award.

It began back in February at Reaseheath College in Cheshire where candidates completed a first round of interviews with three judges. Each student was given the costings , trading and balance sheets of a Shropshire dairy farm to study and were quizzed on the problems it faced.

19-year-old Andrew made it through to the next round held in the London offices of industry body Dairy UK. Seven students were tasked with following an address by Dairy UK Chief Executive Dr Judith Bryans with their own ten minute presentations on the topic “The British Dairy Industry – where are we now and what challenges will we face in the next ten years?”.

“In my view all the other candidates were very strong, so I was amazed to be told I had got through”, said Andrew.

He now heads to the capital again and a date at the Farmers Club in Whitehall on Friday 28th March 28. This time the four finalists must speak for 15 minutes (without visuals) on any aspect of the dairy industry that interests them. Andrew has chosen to discuss “Longevity and Fertility in the Dairy Cow”.

“To my mind they are the key to industry profitability,” said Andrew. “They are a challenge but the industry can do more to address them”.

While the judges are deliberating all the four finalists will be taking part in the “Dairy Challenge”, a debate style session with members of the press. The winner will be announced during a special lunch.

Andrew says: “Whatever the result I have enjoyed the experience and learned an awful lot. It has been a bit stressful at times but well worth doing.”