A young agricultural student from South Molton has won the 2022 West Country Dairy Awards.

21-year-old Josh Thorne was presented with a bronze cow trophy and a cheque for £2,000.

Josh is studying for a Master's and his dissertation will involve conducting a national study of agricultural labour shortages.

He hopes to add value to the industry by highlighting issues within the labour supply chain.

On winning, Josh said: "I feel very honoured to receive such a prestigious award that has helped so many elite students in the past.

"The money will be used to great effect in helping me to conduct my ongoing research into labour shortages within agriculture.

"This will enable me to produce the highest quality research data for my Master’s. The funding will allow for a greater range in data collection, thus creating a more representative set of results.

"I feel as though awards such as the WCDA are extremely beneficial to agriculture in allowing students to add value and address issues within the industry.

"This is a crucial time for farming when we need to be united in solving problems that are being faced in order to guarantee a sustainable future."

20 applicants were interviewed at county level with the best six chosen to move on to the Finals Day. In addition to Josh, the other five finalists were: Imogen Greenway (Somerset), Jack Howard (Somerset), Tamsin Knowles (Cornwall), Becca Langford (Dorset), and Ellen Layzell (Devon).

The remaining five finalists received £1,000 each to spend on dairy-related training.

One of the judges, Alex Stevens, regional policy manager, NFU, said: "The standard of all finalists this year was particularly exceptional and as judges we had a tough time selecting a winner from a group of candidates who, in any other year, could have won in their own right.

"Our winner, Josh, stood out because he had picked a topic for study that will have benefits across the dairy sector and beyond with his focus on recruiting and retaining staff – a problem felt across the whole economy."

The West Country Dairy Awards were established in 1925 to provide grants to people studying dairy-related training courses.

Chairman Richard Kallaway said: "Every candidate demonstrated a passion and commitment to the dairy sector, and whether they enter the veterinary profession, an advisory role or become dairy farmers themselves, it is absolutely clear that with great people coming through the system the dairy industry will be in safe hands for many years to come."

This year, the charitable organisation distributed more than £16,000 to young people looking to further their skills within the dairy industry.

The awards are open to anyone living in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset or Dorset.

To find out more about West Country Dairy Awards, visit afcp.org.uk.