As well as a farm move Ollie has successfully won a prestigious Nuffield Farming Scholarship this year. This will allow him to investigate why the benefits of 100% grassfed meat and dairy are not widely promoted within the UK food market. Subsequently he hopes to help raise awareness amongst consumers and establish the product as a significant market sector.
Ollie firmly believes that ‘living in nature’s eye’ is the key to maintaining a quality product, environmental stability as well as animal well being, this will form the central theme of his studies as a Nuffield Scholar.
“Why is it that 100% grassfed is more widely recognised in the USA as a healthier, lower carbon alternative than conventionally produced meat and dairy and as such is produced by thousands of farmers and is stocked, labelled and marketed in major supermarkets; whereas in the UK, one of the best grass growing countries in the world, awareness of the many benefits of 100% grassfed meat and dairy are known only to a minority of farmers, producer groups and consumers with a specialist interest or diet?” Oliver White, Nuffield Farming Application 2014.
Now armed with the opportunities that come with being a Nuffield Scholar, Ollie will be able to further research the reasons why grassfed products are more widely recognised in other countries. He is one step closer to his dream of raising awareness of the wide range of benefits that are linked with grassfed meat and dairy. The Nuffield Farming Scholarship will be a chance to learn and put into progress new ways to break into the emerging market in the UK.
The journey begins with research in the USA, Canada and Uruguay where 100% grassfed meat and dairy is firmly established in the market. Ollie will look closely at how retail, promotion and the opportunities available can shape the future of the produce. He hopes to bring back information that can be shared with future scholars and change the way the UK market shapes our food production.
Ollie is proud to be following in his grandfather’s footsteps who was one of the first to be awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 1949. Ronald G P White studied commercial pig production in Denmark and milk production in Ayrshire before starting out on his own and applying all that he learnt to his new farm.
