The Farmers' Union of Wales today revealed details of its revamped annual student bursary following a review by its agricultural education and training committee.
From this year the FUW will be offering two bursary categories - one for higher education students and one for further education students. There will also be two awards in each category with £1,000 awarded to each winner and £500 to each runner-up.
A number of significant amendments have been made to the bursaries, such as the inclusion of a farm management option for higher education applications and a more practical approach for further education applicants.
As part of the review, the union has amended the timing of applications and the application process. The higher education bursary will follow a similar application process to previous years, with applications being submitted between September and October, but further education students will now be asked to submit their entries from December onwards.
FUW agricultural education and training committee chairman Alun Edwards, who is keen to attract more applications from further education students, said: “Applications for the further education bursary will now open in November, which will give students a longer period of time to settle into their studies, and will be orientated towards the practical nature of the courses being studied.
“We have now also included a farm management element for higher education applicants to give them an option to showcase their understanding of running a business and to demonstrate their understanding of how a farm business can be managed.
“By splitting the bursary into two categories, we hope to attract a greater number of applications and we look forward to receiving this year’s entries.”