An Aberystwyth University agriculture student is one of the top dairy students in the UK, according to the Royal British Dairy Farmers Association.

Third-year BSc Agriculture student Steffan Rees, from Llanarth, was announced as runner-up in the prestigious RABDF Dairy Student for 2019 competition at the Dairy-Tech conference held in Stoneleigh.

Sponsored by Mole Valley Farmers, the RABDF Dairy Student competition has been awarded annually since 1991, and draws entries from agricultural colleges and universities from across the UK and Northern Ireland.

Steffan comes from a long line of dairy farmers and his father studied at the Welsh Agricultural College, now part of Aberystwyth University.

The first round of the competition featured a report based on a dairy farm’s accounts.

For the second round, Steffan was one of only five students selected and invited to give a presentation on the dairy industry in 10 years’ time at the Farmers Club in London in December.

Steffan said he was “delighted” with his performance in the competition, which “made all the work worth it”.

“Obviously, it’s a huge honour for me to be a finalist and I must thank the university for the opportunity and the continued support, especially from Coleg Cymraeg lecturer Manod Williams who has been great throughout the whole process,” he said.

“I’m hugely passionate about farming and dairy in particular, and that has come from generations of farming throughout the family. We farm dairy and sheep at home and coming to university and having this experience has been great in seeing and understanding what happens beyond the farm gate as well as meeting so many different people in the industry.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully graduating this year and going home to the farm, alongside some other things such as travelling and maybe seeking a part-time job in the industry."

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