My name is Becky Willson.  I’m 34 years old and live on the western edge of Dartmoor in Devon with my husband Tom and two daughters Emma and Chloe, a greedy black Labrador and an ageing cat.

The Willson gang

For work, I split my time between working for Duchy College Rural Business School as a technical specialist in resource management, and a project officer for the Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit, which is a farmer led organisation that deals with helping farmers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.  Both of these jobs allow me the great privilege of talking to farmers and growers about managing resources and carbon on-farm.

I have been working in resource management for the last few years, previously helping to develop the SWARM Hub project which was a European funded project that aimed to help translate science into practical knowledge for farmers around managing their resources including soils, manures, nutrients, water, energy and carbon.

Helping farmers with nutrient management planning and valuing the nutrients that are found in manures and slurries has been a core part of my role over the last year or so with the development of the Farm Crap App.

Although I’m not from a farming background, I’ve always wanted to be involved in the industry and have never wanted to do anything else.  My early career was mainly spent happily milking cows around the UK, before I defected to the dark side of knowledge transfer.

Away from work, I help to look after our community farm, which involves 50 families from the local area working together growing their own food and rearing their own livestock.

       Thank you

I am only able to take part in this life changing experience thanks to the kind sponsorship of my Nuffield Scholarship by AHDB Beef and Lamb.  I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity, so thank you.