Holstein UK Announces Winner of 2022 President’s Medal Award - Cowsmo

Holstein UK Announces Winner of 2022 President’s Medal Award

Holstein UK were delighted to present the prestigious President’s Medal Award to Natasha Kirby at the International Semex Conference in Glasgow on Monday evening, January 16th.Natasha Kirby

Natasha who is a member of the Lancashire Holstein Young Breeders (HYB) Club has been recognised for the outstanding contribution she has made to her Club, the wider HYB community and the Holstein breed. Her prize consists of an engraved medal and a trip to The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto this November, kindly funded by HYB Principal Sponsor Semex UK. In addition, Natasha was presented with the newly launched Sue Cope Memorial Trophy. Holstein UK also congratulate the two runners-up Alison Lawrie from the Scotland HYB Club and Pippa Tudor from the Shropshire HYB Club.

The Holstein UK President’s Medal, sponsored by Semex UK, recognizes and rewards young talent and highlights individuals who will be the next generation of dairy farmers. The entry process includes Clubs nominating one HYB member, aged between 23 and 26 years old, who must submit an essay with shortlisted candidates then being invited for an interview with a panel of judges. The 2022 essay title was ‘You are at a recruitment fair. Convince the young people attending that entering the UK dairy industry would be a good career choice’ and provoked an inspirational collection of essays, with the three finalist’s copies available to read online.

The panel of judges consisted of Holstein UK President John Jamieson, Semex representative Rodger Mather and Holstein UK’s Industry Representative Jane Arrell. We were delighted to welcome them, along with the eight shortlisted young breeders, to the new Holstein UK Head Office in Telford, Shropshire, for the first in-person President’s Medal interviews since 2019. Following the interviews, the final three young breeders were selected ahead of the winner being officially announced.

On behalf of the judges, Holstein UK President John Jamieson commented, “All eight candidates we interviewed are fantastic ambassadors for the Holstein breed and it was a pleasure to interview them in early December. They all have such an incredible passion for the dairy industry and are committed to careers which will assist in driving the industry forwards. It was an extremely difficult decision to select a winner out of our final shortlist and I am delighted to award the President’s Medal to Natasha Kirby who has been an integral part of Lancashire HYB for many years. Throughout her time in Holstein Young Breeders, Natasha has been dedicated to taking part in a multitude of club activities and also encouraging younger members to develop their skills across all aspects of HYB. I would like to extend my congratulations to the runners up, Alison Lawrie and Pippa Tudor, who are equally as passionate and dedicated towards their careers in the dairy industry and I wish them all the very best for the future.”

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