A student from Devon has landed her dream job working with Duchy College’s award winning Rural Business School (RBS).

Holly Yelland, 22, from Okehampton, is now working as a Training Co-ordinator for the BVD Stamp It Out Project, helping farmers tackle this damaging cattle disease, whilst also studying for her Post Graduate Certificate in Education which will enable her to become an agricultural lecturer.

The highly contagious disease, Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), costs UK farmers an estimated £60 million per year. It impacts animal welfare within affected herds and reduces farm productivity and profitability.

Holly says: “After I attended one of the Duchy College advice events and speaking to the staff I made the decision to apply for the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture course after I left school.

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course and decided to go onto the Foundation Degree in Agriculture followed by the BSc(Hons) Rural Business Management Top Up.”

Holly applied to do her university level study at Duchy because it meant she was able to work at the same time as studying and the small group sizes meant “I didn’t get lost in the crowd”.

She gained the post following winning a national Farm Health Management Award at Dairy-Tech 2018 and achieving a First Class Honours degree in Rural Business Management.

Holly will be combining the role with setting up her own calf rearing unit on her family’s farm.

Research Manager at the RBS, Paul Ward, said Holly is “an outstanding graduate who had to fend off strong external candidates to land her position with the RBS”.