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hairi Robb grew up in Girvan, South Ayrshire and is now enjoying her first job as an assistant agronomist with Eurofins Agroscience Services after graduating from SAC last year. She assesses new chemicals for their effect on crops such as wheat and barley, oil seed rape, sugar beet, and potatoes in the process for registration. When Mhairi first considered her career options, she was convinced she wanted to be an occupational therapist. However she soon realised that wasn't for her and, encouraged by her sister's experience at Auchincruive, she looked at the SAC prospectus. Countryside Management with its broad range of subjects immediately appealed to her, even though she doesn't come from a farming background. In particular, she felt
Mhairi Robb – Assistant Agronomist Eurofins Agroscience
that farming and conservation, went hand in hand. One day, Mhairi's class was interrupted by somebody looking for new students to do work in the lab taking plant samples for field trials. Mhairi volunteered, and has never looked back. What was initially a ten week paid summer job led to employment in the Agronomy Department during the holidays year after year, giving her a reliable holiday income and a level of independence. Mhairi clearly enjoys her work in agronomy and her enthusiasm for SAC is obvious. She was offered her job with Eurofins the day before she graduated, and has no doubt that the experience she gained working in the lab at SAC was pivotal. “It was very good going to graduation knowing that I already had work to go to,” she says.
Joanna Dick Seasonal Ranger St Cyrus National Nature Reserve
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oanna Dick grew up in small country villages in the North East. Her Dad's love of the outdoors rubbed off on her as she accompanied him on shoots with their gun dogs. Joanna looked to SAC for practical training that would giver her opportunities to work outdoors. Both Tourism and Countryside Management were candidates. In the end Countryside Management won out for its mix of farming, forestry and shooting. After graduating from SAC, Joanna's first job was as a Seasonal Ranger at St Cyrus National Nature Reserve. It's the norm for graduates to start their careers in this field with three to four seasonal positions, before they're taken on full time by an employer. It's also a field which is considered 'difficult to get into.' Joanna says the key to getting work in the conservation field is doing volunteer work before graduation. This builds valuable experience and
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shows enthusiasm and commitment. Having done lots of volunteer work in the conservation realm, which included time at St Cyrus, Joanna was able to get work as soon as she graduated from SAC last year. Her first season's experience included guiding school and walking groups, and conducting surveys bird, butterfly, and wildflower populations. Practical conservation activities included bracken beating and wildflower burning. Her farming education also landed Joanna in charge of a herd of 14 Highland Cattle for a project where a grazing area of rank grassland was taken back to a wildflower meadow. Seasonal work in conservation typically runs from 1st April to 31st October. Joanna found that her enjoyment and interest in shooting provided the perfect natural complement to her seasonal occupation - paid work on pheasant and partridge shoots.
New Clovers
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wo new grass and red clover seed mixtures are now available in the Sinclair McGill range of ley mixtures: Admiral’s Choice, which will produce protein-rich silage for at least three years, and Crimson King, a one-year ley ideal as a nitrogen-fixing break crop. Admiral’s Choice is formulated to produce high yields of protein-rich silage for at least three seasons. It contains the red clover blend Red Admiral to ensure consistent yields through the growing season and a late tetraploid perennial ryegrass to boost sugar content. Crimson King, which is recommended for sowing in late summer/early autumn, will produce high yields of protein-rich hay or three to four cuts of big bale silage
the following year, before it is ploughed in to release nitrogen to the soil. The mixture contains Crimson clover, red clover, a tetraploid Westerwolds ryegrass and Italian ryegrasses. Limagrain UK’s Ian Misselbrook explains: “Crimson clover – also known as Italian or French clover – is an annual type of red clover with very high yields. Ideally it should be sown with a clover inoculant. When grown for hay, the Crimson clover flowers will provide a valuable nectar source for insects.” For more information on the Sinclair McGill range, including the two new red clover mixtures, contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit www.limagrain.co.uk to download a catalogue.