Waitrose MD Mark Price will present next week’s Pinnacle Awards at the Farmers’ Club in London.

The awards celebrate excellence in business management in the farming sector and are run by agricultural consultancy Adas and the Farmers’ Club to foster the management training of students preparing to work in the sector.

The Cave Foundation also sponsors the awards which are further supported by the Guild of Agricultural Journalists. Entry for the awards is open to full-time students attending colleges and universities in the UK which are providing training courses for land-based industries and who will complete a practically based management project during the year of entry for the award.

Students are entered on the recommendation of their college or university, as having undertaken a project of high standard that is suitable for assessment in competition with entries from other students.

Price said: “The importance of the countryside and agriculture to Great Britain is something we must never forget. The seasons impose their own rhythm on the production of food, yet the development of business within this environment, as shown so vividly by the Pinnacle Awards, is dynamic and exciting, offering great prospects for the future. By encouraging young entrepreneurs to develop new and exciting business opportunities in the countryside, the Pinnacle Awards for Business Excellence can play an important part in our future. Harnessing the talent, energy and imagination of our youth in an environment that has so much to offer will benefit us all.”

The awards will be presented on 5 May and are now in their 14th year. They encourage and reward innovation and creativity. All eight finalists were assessed on both the originality of their ideas and their ability to communicate them, undergoing both a panel interview and presentation to other competitors and tutors.

Topics