Students from Theodore Public School welcome “Archi Cotton” VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This year Art4agriculture has been lucky enough to get significant support from the Australian government to expand the Archibull Prize and offer a primary and secondary school complementary program stream in Natural Resource Management (NRM). This gives us a wonderful opportunity to partner selected primary schools with both our young farming champions and our young eco champions.

The funding provides for a pilot program, with a successful outcome underpinning the chance to roll out the NRM stream nationally.

To integrate the pilot into the program, we have divided the 2013 Archibull Prize into 2 streams ( Program A and Program B)

Program A ( added NRM focus )

Students are asked to consider what it takes to sustainably feed and clothe their community for a day. They will explore a food or fibre industry with the support of both a Young Farming Champion and Young Eco Champion with a stronger focus on NRM.
This will require the students to also consider how farmers work with natural resource management professionals to protect Australia’s scare natural resources and share this as part of their learning.

You can click here to see this wonderful Prezi that tells you what the Archibull Prize is and how it works

Cash Prizes on offer

• Best blog $500
• Best Video or PowerPoint $500
• Best Cow $500
• Overall winning school (Program A) The Archibull Prize $1000

Program B ( traditional program)
The secondary schools undertaking Program B will be participating in the traditional Archibull Prize experience, where students are asked to consider what it takes to sustainably feed and clothe their community for a day. They will explore a food or fibre industry with the support of a Young Farming Champion.

Cash Prizes on offer

• Best blog $500
• Best Video or PowerPoint $500
• Best Cow $500
• Overall winning school (Program B) The Archibull Prize $1000

The winners of program A and program B will then be eligible for an additional $1,000 prize money as judges determine which is the Overall Winning School for the 2013 Archibull Prize.

Our 2013 schools are

Let the games begin

The road to Bendemeer

I am 22 years old and lucky enough to have grown up on a farm with the wide open spaces of paddocks and the familiar surroundings of horses, dogs and sheep

I have many fond memories of running around in the shearing shed, helping to draft, drench and watching the shearing.  We always had few pet/poddy lambs at the house after lambing. It was  a great joy to care for them and watch them grow into sheep.

One of my most memorable recollections was heading with Dad to check on and/or muster the sheep. I would have been happy to do this every day, 365 days of the year.  It is all the wonderful memories and farm life experience that have fuelled my passion for agriculture and in particular the Wool Industry.

Following the completion of Year 12 at New England Girls’ School in Armidale, New South Wales, I studied and gained my professional Woolclassers’ Certificate in 2009 through Tamworth TAFE.

Following my successful selection for an Elders Traineeship in May last year, I have been provided with on-going support and training from my mentors and the Elders team and this has allowed me to progress to my career pathway in the Wool industry.

I now live and work in Sydney, for Elders as a Wool Technical Support Officer at the Yennora Wool Selling Centre. I really love my work and look forward to each day, as there is always something happening.

That’s me in the middle at the Yennora Wool Centre

My Elders Traineeship has given me incredible exposure to the many and varied facets of the Wool Industry including

• Ram Sales and Bull Sales, on property and regional sales

Attending sales both on property and regionally, has enabled me to gain extensive knowledge and skills, interact with clients, improve upon my networking skills and also learn how to process sales and complete buyer registrations.

Throughout the past 11 months, I have travelled the state to towns including Newcastle, Dubbo, Cooma and Walcha. Each of these have been a great opportunity to learn more about Ram and Ewe selection, wool characteristics and selling options and also to meet and interact with existing and potential clients.

This year, I was also fortunate enough to attend the Sydney Royal Easter Show to network with sheep breeders and take in all that the Sheep and Wool pavilions had to offer. The Sydney Royal was a great experience, which enable me to see some of the highest quality sheep and wool from all over the country on display.

• Farmer Interaction and Networking opportunities

Meeting dedicated and committed wool growing families is an inspiration to me as I know it is to the wool industry and wider community.

My job with Elders allows me to travel meet and network with farmers in either a hands on way through face to face meetings such as attending on-farm shearings and assisting with ram selection at Studs and over the phone conversations. I particularly enjoy meeting and speaking with wool growers  at events like the Newcastle Wool Sales and Industry Functions. The positive atmosphere at each of these functions is amazing, with like-minded farmers and employees able to interact in a friendly and supportive environment and build upon as well as share their own knowledge of the wool industry.

It has certainly helped build my confidence and enabled me to become a more outgoing person.

Elders team at Newcastle Client Night 2013

• ·Auctioneering

Most recently, I have begun auctioneering at the weekly Sydney Wool Sales. This has been a fantastic opportunity for me to learn the new skill of being a Wool Auctioneer and also to improve my communication skills.

Me Auctioneering with Craig Brennan, Yennora Wool Technical Manager

Presentation is very important when you are trusted to sell a client’s wool clip. They are trusting you, as their broker and auctioneer, with their annual income and therefore it is very important to know the client and their product well.  Its is very important to present the clip and yourself well, to achieve the best possible price for your client and their product. I also help to prepare for the weekly sale through firstly the lotting of the client’s wool specification, the valuing of the samples located on the show floor and by interacting with buyers in order to gain an idea of how the market may perform that week and over coming weeks, depending on supply and demand at that time. The opportunity to become an auctioneer has been another, very exciting step facilitated by the help and training provided by my trusted mentors within Elders and the industry. Each week I challenge myself to improve my previous weeks’ performance and  believe with the amount of support of my mentors, lots of practice and commitment, I have the potential to become a highly valued Wool Auctioneer in years to come.

• WoolTrade and Wooltrade Plus

The Wooltrade selling system is an internet-based system trading 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Wooltrade provides woolgrowers with an alternative marketing system for their wool that is complementary to the traditional auction system. The very nature of the Wooltrade system has opened up the Australian wool market across all states, allowing buyers to purchase wool nationally rather than just regionally.

Wooltrade is based on computer technology, but it is also a managed system providing personal support to assist users. The technology used by Wooltrade enables ease of access for buyers who are able to cost-effectively and efficiently buy wool and secure future supply. Source http://www.wooltrade.com.au/

I have been involved with all of these processes,  including selecting suitable lots of wool and listing them for sale on the computer system. These systems assist in both the marketing and selling of wool clips, and help woolgrowers have the flexibility to optimise prices for their wool clip and potentially avoid market volatility and the vagaries of prices on traditional sale days. See footnote

The wool industry has a proud history and plays a pivotal role in providing high quality fibre and clothing to countries all around the world.

My career in the Wool industry is allowing me to surround myself with inspirational people who are generously giving their time to mentor me. It is opening so many doors and I am committed to giving back by sharing my story with next generation and hopefully inspire other young people to join me and ensure a bright future for the Australian wool industry

You can watch Cassie talk about her career here

Footnote

About 85% of wool sold in Australia is sold by open cry auction. ‘Sale by sample’ is a method in which a mechanical claw takes a sample from each bale in a line or lot of wool. These grab samples are bulked, objectively measured, and a sample of not less than 2 kg is displayed in a box for the buyer to examine. The Australian Wool Exchange conducts sales primarily in Sydney, Melbourne, and Fremantle. There are about 80 brokers and agents throughout Australia

About 7% of Australian wool is sold by private treaty on farms or to local wool-handling facilities. This option gives wool growers benefit from reduced transport, warehousing, and selling costs. This method is preferred for small lots or mixed butts in order to make savings on reclassing and testing.

About 5% of Australian wool is sold over the internet on an electronic offer board.  This option gives wool growers the ability to set firm price targets, reoffer passed-in wool and offer lots to the market quickly and efficiently. This method works well for tested lots, as buyers use these results to make a purchase. About 97% of wool is sold without sample inspection; however, as of December 2009, 59% of wool listed had been passed in from auction.^] Growers through certain brokers can allocate their wool to a sale and at what price their wool will be reserved.

Sale by tender can achieve considerable cost savings on wool clips large enough to make it worthwhile for potential buyers to submit tenders. Some marketing firms sell wool on a consignment basis, obtaining a fixed percentage as commission.

Forward selling: Some buyers offer a secure price for forward delivery of wool based on estimated measurements or the results of previous clips. Prices are quoted at current market rates and are locked in for the season. Premiums and discounts are added to cover variations in micron, yield, tensile strength, etc., which are confirmed by actual test results when available.

Another method of selling wool includes sales direct to wool mills.

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool

Liz Lobsey shares the experience ……………………….

I was given the fantastic opportunity last Thursday to head to Corinda State School in Brisbane to speak about Agronomy for Cotton Australia at the Moo Baa Munch.

Firstly I will be upfront and say, defining agronomy, and making it sound like the best job in the world is a little harder then I first thought.

The Cotton Classroom (right at the front gate)

The Moo Baa Munch is organised by Agforce QLD and each industry is invited to host a site and speak about what their industry involves to high school and primary school students and why it is an exciting career prospect. I must say, even I learnt things that I didn’t know, so I can only imagine what the school students brains where like by the time they had visited the very numerous and highly diverse exhibitions.

The field to fabric process which was a joint presentation between Cotton Australia and AWI was fantastic. My favourite question was ‘So where does cotton wool come from?‘ Definitely a question the 4 of us did not expect and definitely stunned all of us.

Being involved in this collaboration between the wool industry and the cotton industry at Moo Baa Much reminded me of a question recently posed by Lynne Strong, farmer and Art4Agriculuture program director in a recent blog. Why can’t industries work together? 

The thing I learnt from this joint field to fabric presentation, was just how successful agriculture can be when we do work together and what a great return on investment for all stakeholders.   

After all once cotton is picked and the wool is shorn and the processing of the end products is almost identical, just different terms are used.

Cotton wool???

I was absolutely shocked that a lot of primary school students actually do believe that cotton actually comes from a sheep. It’s a bit like people thinking that milk comes from a bottle and meat comes from the shelf at the supermarket.

It’s a little scary to think that the people who buy our products are so disconnected, and they are passing this disconnection onto their children, who will pass it onto their children, and the cycle will only continue unless agriculture engages and debunks myths like these now. That’s why programs like the Moo Baa Munch and the Art4Agriculture programs are so extremely important.

What was very powerful for me as a young person with a career in agriculture and working with school children through Art4Agriculture in 2013 and 2014 was the the cotton industry and the wool industry had done their research and recognised the smart way to handle the challenge was tell the story together.

Sophie Davidson speaking about cotton processing as part of the joint Field to Fabric presentation with Wool.

Sophie Davidson (education coordinator for Cotton Australia) put these figures to the students we spoke to.

In 1813, the world population was 1 billion.

100 years later in 1913, the population was 1.7 billion.

In 2013 the world population is 7 billion.

For the last 100 years the world population had increased by almost 5.4 billion people and it is only going to continue to increase.

In light of this, the fact that we have 800 graduates at present completing agriculture related studies each year and we have 4000 graduate positions available, is of great concern.

We cant produce food and fibre without farmers and our farmers cant access the latest research and technology if we have no scientists. We cant give our animals the best care if we have no vets. We can optimise the care of our scarce natural resources unless we have soil and plant scientists like me. And that is just the start of a long list of people needed to help farmers produce the high quality and affordable food and fibre Australia is so famous for. Take the wool and the cotton industry just as example. Everywhere in the world it is recognised that no-one produces better quality wool and cotton sustainably than Australia.   

Me and Sophie Davidson ( Cotton Australia)

I pose this question to you. What do you think Agforce is trying to achieve though Moo Baa Munch?.

1. Is it the need the need for agriculture to sexy up its image?
2. If so do we really need to make agriculture sexy to attract the next generation?
3. Or, do we simply need to reacquaint them with a very important industry that has been here for hundred’s of years and gets more exciting and more necessary every year ?

These were certainly the questions on the lips of Premier Campbell Newman, who I had the pleasure of meeting.

Me and the QLD Premier Campbell Newman

And its not just Campbell Newman asking how can we make agriculture sexy, this is something that industry has been talking about for quite some time.  

Personally I think we should be looking at the first rule of marketing and taking a step back and engaging our consumers and the next generation of agriculture’s potential workforce first and finding out what they really think about agriculture. Once we have this knowledge then we can address their concerns and fix the problems and then we will have a real chance of selling agriculture as ‘dripping with integrity and sexy.’

I was also lucky enough to have a brief conversation with the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Sid Sidebottom about improving agricultures image, and he firmly believes that something needs to be done, sooner rather then later.

Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Sid Sidebottom

So, it is our responsibility, as professionals, producers and supporters of the agriculture industry to be proactive and engage the public and change their misconceptions. After all can we think of better people to tell our story than the people who grow and produce the products?

I believe that we are at a make or break period for the agriculture sector. Realistically if we don’t do something now to ensure young people see agriculture as an attractive and exciting and innovative industry to work in what sort of future does agriculture have in this country?

What sort of future does Australia have without a thriving agriculture sector? 

The Moo Baa Munch was a fantastic experience for me and I am confident all the visitors felt the same. A huge hats off to Agforce for being proactive and innovative for designing and managing the event. Also a big thank you to Sophie Davidson and Cotton Australia for letting me have the opportunity to travel down and speak to students about the cotton industry, learn more about the wool industry, agriculture and the value of successful cross industry partnerships.

It was a great personal and professional development opportunity for me not only to brush up on my public speaking skills but also a fantastic opportunity to engage with the community and share stories about my favourite topic Australian agriculture and our inspirational farmers.

This year we have again been impressed by the high quality of the Young Farming Champion candidates. They have a great breadth of experience and a passionate commitment to a sustainable future for the Australian beef and lamb industry and will undoubtedly prove to be strong and effective advocates

Elise Vale Community Engagement Manager.

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The Target 100 Young Farming Champions for 2013 are:

Jasmine Nixon, 24, from Wagga Wagga in NSW.

My passion is agriculture and I am proud to say I love my beef cows! Every day I know that I am contributing to help feed the world – and I also love what I do. Agriculture is an exciting place to be, yes there are challenges but there are also endless different opportunities within agriculture and that is something I hope to share and encourage a new generation to take on the challenge to help feed the world!

You can read Jasmine’s blog here

Hannah Barber, 22, from Gunningbland, NSW;

Hannah centre at the 50th Anniversary dinner for RAS NSW Showgirl Competition

Education is the key to ensuring the Australian agricultural industry is understood and supported by our urban cousins and I look forward to a career where I can achieve this, and then come home to the farm every evening.

You can read Hannah’s blog  here

Danille Fox, 19, from St George, Queensland;

I see today’s agricultural industry as exciting and challenging and I feel privileged to be a part of an industry which is so vital to Australia’s future. I look forward to contributing to the industry through my veterinary profession and AGvocacy roles

You can read Danille’s blog  here

Naomi Hobson, 23, from Georgetown, Queensland

Naomi in training for Intercollegiate Meat Judging competition at the University of Wyoming’

It doesn’t matter what your background may be all you need is enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and the ability to say yes to the opportunities that are presented to you and I guarantee a great adventure will be waiting!

After all, as Dorothea wrote…

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold.

Read more about Naomi here

Our four Champions will share their stories with urban Australians and help improve city consumers’ understanding of the challenges of producing beef and lamb sustainably.
Our aim is for these young women to become part of a strong network of equally passionate young rural people who are encouraging consumers to value, be proud of and support the Australian farmers who feed and clothe them.
An important aspect of their role as Young Farming Champions will be to speak with school children about how sheep and cattle are raised.
Hannah, Danille, Naomi and Jasmine will go into schools which are participating in the Art4Agriculture Archibull Prize program and spread the word on the sustainability of the beef and lamb industry.
By actively engaging in two way conversations the Young Farming Champions will help bridge the gap between city and rural communities by increasing knowledge, generating trust and understanding of modern farming practices.

We will be hosting our  Beef Young Champions at our head office and introducing them to our team members and supporting their journey every step of the way. We wish them well over the course of this year and look forward to their feedback so we can optimise the beef and sheep farmer story experiences we provide in schools and the wider community!

On behalf of Art4Agriculuture and the Beef Young Farming Champions we salute the Target 100 team and thank them for investing in next gen food ands fibre

Jasmine, Danille, Naomi and Hannah will join the Art4Agriculture team of 2012 Young Farming Champions and we are looking forward to working with them all. They light our fire and keep it burning. So much energy and commitment for a dynamic, innovative exciting and profitable agrifood sector   

Above us are ambulance officers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and fireman. Why is this you ask?. The answer is easy. If you are an ambulance officer, a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist or a fireman there would be a time in most people’s lives when you would be reminded just how important your profession is.

With food in abundance in this country there is little opportunity to remind the community just how important our farmers are.

On behalf of all Australian farmers I would like to thank ABC24news who have created this wonderful video to tell our story

A key to helping maintain the momentum is farmers finding their own vehicles to tell their story. Vehicles that help us have two way conversations with the most important people and the white elephant in the room otherwise known as consumers and voters. This is not something farmers in general have the skill sets or expertise for. In the past we have let others tell our story and that has been a disaster of momentous proportions and it is one of the key reasons why agriculture is currently on its knees in this country.

So how do fix this. We can do it. I know because at Art4Agriculture we have found the successful model

Like any idea it’s not the concept but the people who make it work and for agriculture it will be our young people. They are out there. We have a whole cohort of them in Art4Agriculture’s Young Farming Champions program. Our Young Farming Champions are now working side by side with our Young Eco Champions to tell agriculture’s story to our most important audience

What does it take to have young people who can talk like this, who can inspire other young people to follow in their footsteps. What does it take for our young people to be the change that agriculture so needs to have?.

Art4Agriculture has the formula and the results speak for themselves?. Listen to the video.

Follow their journey

THE 2012 YOUNG FARMING CHAMPIONS

BEEF

Sponsored by Meat and Livestock Australia Target 100 program

Stephanie Fowler
Wagga Wagga, NSW

Steph grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales in a small coastal suburb, Green Point. A decision to study agriculture in high school created a passion for showing cattle and in 2012 she started a PhD in Meat and Livestock Science, with a project that is looking at the potential of Raman Spectroscopy in predicting meat quality.

“When I was growing up I never dreamed that I would end up joining an incredibly rewarding, innovative and exciting industry that would take me across the country and around the world.”

Read Steph’s Blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Bronwyn Roberts
Emerald, QLD

Bronwyn is a Grazing Land Management Officer with the Fitzroy Basin Association. Her family has a long association with the cattle industry in Queensland and her parents currently run a 5500 acre cattle property near Capella.

“I believe consumers have lost touch of how and where their food and fibre is produced. In these current times where agriculture is competing with other industry for land use, labour, funding and services, it is important that we have a strong network of consumers who support the industry and accept our social license as the trusted and sustainable option.”

Read Bronwyn’s Blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Kylie Stretton
Charters Towers, QLD

Kylie Stretton and her husband have a livestock business in Northern Queensland, where they also run Brahman cattle. Kylie is the co-creator of “Ask An Aussie Farmer” a social media hub for people to engage with farmers and learn about food and fibre production.

“The industry has advanced from the images of “Farmer Joe” in the dusty paddock to images of young men and women from diverse backgrounds working in a variety of professions. Images now range from a hands-on job in the dusty red centre to an office job in inner city Sydney. So many opportunities, so many choices.”

Read Kylie’s Blog post HERE

View her video HERE

COTTON

Sponsored by Cotton Australia

Tamsin Quirk
Moree, NSW

Tamsin grew up in Moree but is not from a farm. An enthusiastic teacher at high school who encouraged the students to better understand the natural world sparked Tamsin’s interest in agriculture. She is now studying agricultural science at the University of New England.

“Growing up in Moree has shown me is how important it is to have young people in the industry with a fiery passion and a desire to educate those who aren’t fully aware of the valuable role our farmers play in feeding and clothing not only Australians but many other people around the world.”

Read Tamsin’s Blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Richard Quigley
Trangie, NSW

Richie is a fifth-generation farmer at Trangie in central-western NSW. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at the University of Sydney and in the long term, intends to return to the family farm, a 6000-hectare mixed-cropping, cotton and livestock operation.

“It’s fantastic to help people understand how their food and fibre is produced and to represent the agricultural industry. Most of the students I talked to are from the city so they haven’t been exposed to agriculture on the kind of scale we work on.”

Read Richie’s Blog post HERE

View his video HERE

DAIRY

Sponsored by Pauls

Jessica Monteith
Berry, NSW

Jess was introduced to the dairy industry by a childhood friend whose parents owned a dairy farm. She is currently undertaking a Traineeship in Financial services through Horizon Credit Union while completing full time study for a double degree in Agricultural Science and Agribusiness Finance through Charles Sturt University.

“I am hoping to follow a career path in finance related to and working one-on-one with our farmers to develop their industries and operations to work to full capacity as well as continuing to work with the next generation. The fact that I don’t come from a farming background helps show that exciting agriculture related careers and opportunities are available to everyone.”

Read Jess’ blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Tom Pearce
Bega, NSW

Tom is a fourth generation dairy farmer from Bega and is actively involved in a range of industry activities including Holstein Australia Youth Committee and the National All Dairy Breeds Youth Camp.

“The fact is there is a fair majority of the population that doesn’t realise how their food gets from paddock to plate. If we want agricultural production to double over the next 30 years to feed the predicted 9 Billion people we have a big task ahead of us. This will require farmers and communities working cooperatively for mutual benefit.”

Read Tom’s blog post HERE

View his video HERE

WOOL

Sponsored by Australian Wool Innovation

Lauren Crothers
Dirranbandi, QLD

Lauren is passionate about the wool industry and spent her gap year on a remote sheep station in Western NSW increasing her hands-on knowledge. Lauren is now studying a Bachelor of Agribusiness at the University of Queensland.

“Every family needs a farmer. No matter who you are, your gender, your background or where you live you can become involved in this amazing industry.”

Read Lauren’s blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Stephanie Grills
Armidale, NSW

Steph Grills’ family has been farming in the New England Tablelands since 1881 and the original family farm remains in the family to this day. Steph is combining a career on the farm with her four sisters with a Bachelor of Livestock Science at the University of New England.

“I believe the future for Australian agriculture will be very bright. I am excited to be part of an innovative industry that is leading the world in technology and adapting it on a practical level. I’m very proud to say that Agriculture has been passed down over nine known generations and spans over three centuries just in my family. My hope is that this continues, and that the future generations can be just as proud as I am that they grow world-class food and fibre. I also hope by sharing my story I can inspire other young people to follow me into an agricultural career.”

Read Steph’s Blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Samantha Townsend
Lyndhurst, NSW

Sammi is passionate about encouraging young people to explore careers in agriculture and has a website and blogwww.youthinagtionaustralia.com where she showcases the diversity of opportunities. In 2012 Sammi commenced studying Agricultural Business Management at Charles Sturt University in Orange.

“I have found that being an Art4Ag YFC has helped my University this year. This was my first year at University and my first time out there and finding my feet. Taking on this role helped give me a lot of confidence and it has also broadened my own knowledge about my own industry. It is amazing how many things you take for granted until you have to tell someone about them! I was elected President of the Ag Club at Uni in the middle of the year and it is a role I thought I never would have had the confidence to take on. With the opportunities I have been given this year through Art4Ag, I have a new-found confidence to have a go at tackling anything.”

Read Sammi’s Blog post HERE

View her video HERE

Listen to their videos on YouTube

YFC ON YOUTUBE
(Click headings to watch on YouTube)

2012 COTTON YOUNG FARMING CHAMPIONS

Richie Quigley

The Richie Quigley Story

Richie Quigley Interview students from De La Salle College

James Ruse Agricultural High School talks Richie Quigley at MCLEMOI Gallery

Laura Bunting Winmalee High School Student talks about Richie Quigley

Tamsin Quirk

The Tamsin Quirk story

YFC Tamsin Quirk and Lady Moo Moo telling the story of jeans

2012 WOOL YOUNG FARMING CHAMPIONS

Sammi Townsend

The Sammi Townsend Story

YFC Sammi Townsend talks Wool at the Ekka

Teacher Steve Shilling talks about Sammi Townsend Visit to Camden Haven High School

Lauren Crothers

The Lauren Crothers story

Lauren talks to professional shearer Hayden at the Ekka

Stephanie Grills

The Steph Grills story

YFC Steph Grills talks Herefords at the Ekka

YFC Stephanie Grills talks to students from Macarthur Anglican College

YFC Stephanie Grills talks to discovery ranger Kathy Thomas about Potoroos

YFC Steph Grills talks to discovery ranger Kathy Thomas about monitoring Potoroos

2012 BEEF YOUNG FARMING CHAMPIONS

Bronwyn Roberts

The Bronwyn Roberts Story

YFC Bronwyn Roberts talks beef at the Ekka

YFC Bronwyn Roberts talks to teacher Simone Neville at Archibull Prize Awards

YFC Bronwyn Roberts talks to the students at Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College at the Archibull Prize Awards ceremony

YFC Bronwyn Roberts talks to Bush Revegetator Chris Post

Stephanie Fowler

The Stephanie Fowler Story

Stephanie Fowler talks meat and muscle at the Ekka

YFC Steph Fowler talks to students from Shoalhaven High School at the Archibull Prize Awards

Stephanie Fowler talks to Dean Turner from The Crossing

YFC Steph Fowler interviews students from Muirfield High School about the Paddock to Plate story

Steph Fowler finds out why the Girl Guides Exhibit at the Ekka

Kylie Stretton

The Kylie Stretton story

YFC Kylie Stretton talks Brahman Beef at The EKKA

Kylie Stretton talks to students from Hills Adventist College

Teacher Trisha Lee talks about Kylie Stretton visiting St Michaels Catholic School

DAIRY YOUNG FARMING CHAMPIONS

Tom Pearce

The Tom Pearce Story

Tom Pearce talking Breeds of Dairy Cattle at the Ekka

Tom Pearce at the Ekka – Cattle Show Clipping

Tom Pearce at the Ekka – Cattle Showing

Jess Monteith

The Jessica Monteith Story

YFC Jess Monteith reporting from Clover Hill Dairies

Jess Monteith at the Ekka

Tara Sciberras talks about Jess Monteith

Art4Agriculuture has thousands of examples like these and write blogs that share their story viewed by over 100,000 people in 24 countries.

These are currently our government, industry and community partners who have faith in them and invest in them.  On behalf of farmers everywhere we would like to thank them

This is the Andrew D’Arcy story …….

My name is Andrew D’Arcy and I am a 5^th generation dairy farmer from the Bega Valley.

I am passionate about the future of agriculture and believe that there are endless opportunities in this industry.I was born in Bega, a beautiful coastal region located on the far south coast of New South Wales.

Bega is a great place to live as it is in close proximity to untouched, pristine beaches, situated a few mere hours away from the capital city and the snow fields, and is surrounded by a vast valley of hills to occupy my leisure time with motorbike riding, surfing, snowboarding, fishing, and wake boarding.

Cow painted by Bega Primary School students in 2007

I was educated at the local primary and secondary schools before I was fortunate enough to be able to pursue further education in agriculture at the University of Melbourne (Dookie campus). Over a period of four years I obtained a Bachelor of Rural Business. During this time I worked in different fields of agriculture such as beef cattle, sheep, horticulture, and dry and irrigated cropping. I believe that this experience allowed me to gain an understanding of how other agricultural enterprises work as well as obtain valuable knowledge that I have bought back to my own property. In 2007, I came back to Bega to work alongside my father, who also was born, raised and worked on the property for over 35 years.

My dad Tom D’Arcy

Currently, together we are both able to work and manage the family owned dairy farm, ‘Daisy Bank’ which consists of a milking herd of 420 cows. We are proud supplier to the iconic Australian brand Bega Cheese.

Recently in mid-2012, after many years of research our family decided to install a Lely robotic milking system. See the robotic dairy working at the Dornuaf farm in Tasmanian here

Currently we are operating a six unit system which operates on a pasture based voluntary milking system. This means the herd are able to move around the farm in a relaxed manner and come into the milking shed based off the desire to be milked, stimulation (cow brush) and feed incentives. The benefits of this innovative system include improved cow well-being, udder health, quicker mastitis and sick cow/illness detection, increased milk production and the opportunity to feed the cattle according to production thus an increased feed efficiency. Additionally, they provide the opportunity for a more flexible daily routine to allow more time to be spent on pasture development, environmental care, and calf and heifer rearing and training. Most importantly, the robotic milking system has allowed for an improved lifestyle, reducing the usual 7 day a week, 365 days of the year, early morning starts required for milking in a conventional herringbone or rotary dairy.

Over the years the dairy industry has created many great opportunities for me. I have been fortunate enough to travel throughout Australia & New Zealand on several different educational tours and conferences which has allowed me to gain a broader perspective on all different aspects involved in the dairy industry. These experiences have allowed me to view how far the Australian dairy industry has come over the past 100 years as well as highlighted the potential for the future of dairy and Australian agriculture.

With an ever increasing world population, the importance and need for agriculture is going to strengthen. This necessary demand will generate more career opportunities with boundless positions within the industry, not limited to farming alone but incorporating other fields such as agronomy, nutrition, marketing, engineering, research, science, accounting, veterinary, mechanical – the list is endless. Currently only 3% of Australians are working within agriculture which has decreased by 20% in the past decade. Additionally, at present Australian agriculture requires at least 6000 tertiary qualified graduates per year however there are only 800 students graduating annually in agriculturally associated degrees. These statistics alone highlight the importance of encouraging new people to get involved in agriculture.

We, the next generation need to be the driving force behind this positive change for the future of Australian agriculture.

One of the questions we ask the students is about waste and why is there so much. We ask them to write a blog about how food wastage occurs, discuss poor food purchasing choices and suggest sustainable strategies to reduce wastage. If Eisenstein is right then this is a very important topic for discussion

This fascinating book the ‘Hungry Planet: What the World Eats’ by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluision is an inspired idea, to better understand the human diet and explore what culturally diverse families eat for a week.

The photographs in the book feature pictures of families from different countries at their dining tables with a week’s worth of food purchases. You can find all the images here. We soon learn that diet is determined by different things in first and third world countries.

Fascinatedly for me from the picture it would appear first world problems in Australia would include things like just how many bottles of 2 litre soft drinks can you fit into a plastic shopping bag before it breaks. No idea how they carry all that water. This must be a family that eats together and shops together.  For my dairy farm its a bit of a worry their bottled water consumption seems to leave their milk consumption for dead. However I imagine the egg and livestock industry would be pleased to see this table. Not sure if this Aussie family is getting their five serves of fruit and veg per day though. What I do know is my grocery list looks nothing like this yet my health is nothing to skite about either.

Interestingly soft drinks and how to get them home in one piece without spraining your back would appear to be an even bigger problem in Mexico but it would appear they are getting their five serves of fruit and veg per day

In Britain which appears to be supporting the wealth of the confectionary giants a common topic of concern would be “does chocolate really cause acne”?

Enough of the flippancy. This picture of a family in Chad is very sobering

This image below outs the US and Iceland as the countries with the biggest wasters in the world. I wasn’t game to do the sums on OZ and covert the metrics to whatever prehistoric system the measure ‘pounds’ come from. Com’on pounds, shillings and pence or was that pounds and ounces went out of fashion when I was six.  According to this article the average Australian wastes 200kg of food a year (see footnote)

I look forward to hearing what next gen has to say on the topic of waste and wise food choices because my generation doesn’t seem to have any answers to this very wicked wicked problem

Footnote-

The average Australian wastes 200kg of food a year – yet two million of us also go hungry. Why?

This article makes some very strong points. Some that particularly resonated with me

• 75% of Australians believe their country is immune to poverty and as such do not think of hunger as a problem.
• The pantry of Australia’s national food relief effort is a low profile outfit called Foodbank, a national operation using a big business model to channel surplus food from the food and grocery industry onto welfare networks. Despite the important expression of community altruism and other frontline welfare agencies, the problem of hunger is far from being solved. In 2011, Foodbank distributed 21 million kilograms of donated food and groceries, making the equivalent of 28 million meals to help 75,000 people a day through a network of 2,500 welfare agencies.
• Foodbank relies upon a workforce of 3,500 volunteers to operate its warehouses across the country. Occasionally, state governments and councils provide grants for specific projects but largely, the organisation survives on donations. Only recently the Australian government has started to contribute $1 million a year to assist Foodbank in providing vulnerable Australians with what most of us consider as a human right, the right to safe and nutritious food.
• This should prompt some hard questions. It is common for liberal market economies to off-load welfare responsibilities from federal and state governments to the voluntary sector and Australia is no exception.
• Allowing hunger to be de-politicised in this way fosters the notion that it should fall to non-government organisations to answer pressing social problems, while governments are best at fostering self-reliance and self-provision.
• The silence of the Australian government around domestic food security not only confirms its denial of the issue, but indicates a failing welfare system.
• Also at issue is the environmental consequences of rampant food wastage. It is now reported that about 4.5 million tonnes (200kg per person) of food are wasted every year in Australia. The annual retail value of Australian food waste is estimated at more than $5 billion.
• Among the reasons at the supply end are blemishes or imperfections, over-ordering or short shelf life, while consumers demand perfectly shaped products and plan their pantries poorly.
• Food waste in Australian landfills is the second largest source of methane emission – a gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. If one tonne of food waste generates 3.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emission, then Australian food waste is responsible for 15 million tonnes of CO₂equivalent emissions every year.
• Despite this happening in its own backyard, Australian policy makers still have ambitions to contribute to global food security initiatives. For instance, the 2010 budget committed $464 million over four years to assist countries in Asia, Africa, and in the Pacific region to build community resilience and improve agricultural productivity.
• But if Australia refuses to consider hunger as an issue of public policy and continues to consistently undermine adequate financial assistance to its own people, a nagging question remains about the nature of its ambitions for addressing food security beyond its shores.
• How should we understand the Federal Government’s proclamation of rights to adequate food, clothing and shelter in international law, while hungry Australians are receiving support from privately run charity organisations?
• If the problem of hunger in wealthy and technologically advanced Australia is to be eliminated, it must be recognised as a political question and a fundamental issue of human rights and distributive justice.

As you can see a  great deal of this article resonated with me. I say lets tidy up our own backyard before we jump over the fence

I grew up on our family beef cattle property Bona Vista, 75km north of St George, where we run 500 breeders and 1000 composite steers.

My parents have been the biggest role models in my life and have inspired my strong interest and determination to work in the beef industry. Working for our family business Bona Vista Grazing Company has taught me many valuable practical farm and business skills as well as inspired my love for the rural lifestyle and agriculture.

Standing with my Mum in our forage sorghum crop which we made silage from to store and feed to our cattle in droughts.

Mustering the steers off the crop to weigh in the cattle yards with my Dad, brother and the loyal team (the working dogs)

I completed my primary schooling at Begonia State School where most the time I was the only one in my class and the total number of students was no more than 12. Attending such a small school taught me how to make friends with everyone despite our age differences which is a trait I’ve continued to use.

As I am the youngest of 6 in my family, and our property is near a few of my cousins, we were never bored as kids. Building stick cubbies, playing in the cottonseed, swimming and fishing in the dam and ‘cattle yard tiggy’ were just a few of the little adventures we shared.

 Playing in the cotton seed with my sister and cousins. We feed cotton seed to our cattle during the droughts to our cattle.

I have also grown a love for cattle as since I was old enough to carry a milking a bucket I would wake up early in the morning to go down to the yards with Dad to milk the cows. Even today I still go down and milk the cows with my nieces and I’m sure they will agree that you can’t beat the taste of fresh farm milk.

I have always loved animals and have multiple home videos of my cousin and myself playing ‘Dr Harry’ on the farm where we would ‘make up cases, such as the dairy cow swallowing a golf ball, and the cat getting its claws stuck in the tree, that we were called out to ‘urgently’ treat.

Preparing for a muster at a neighbours. Working in the agricultural industry is a team effort and is extremely rewarding.

I began studying a Bachelor of Agricultural Science in 2011 and decided I wanted to combine my passion for Australian agriculture and farming with my love for animals, in particular cattle and am currently in my second year studying a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland, Gatton.

My dream is to return to a rural area to contribute my skills as a rural veterinarian while contributing to Australia’s beef industry. 

Over the years I have taken every opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills in agriculture from working beside my Mum and Dad on the farm, to participating in programs such as TASTE (The Agricultural Skills and Tertiary Experience) at the Dalby Agricultural College and FEAST (Future Experiences in Agriculture, Science and Technology) which were valuable experiences to meet young people from rural areas with similar interests as myself. I have also taken part in various workshops and forums including the Young Beef Producers Forum held annually in Roma as well as being an active member in the Young Angus Youth Society, the Future Farmers Network and the Bovine Appreciation Group and Cattleman’s Club at our University.

In 2011 I became a recipient of the Horizon Scholarship supported by RIRDC. The scholarship enabled me to gain experience at the Katherine Research Station, Katherine and Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory, Darwin in the NT where I worked with veterinarians conducting station tick checks, taking blood tests from cattle and chooks, crocodile catching and much more.

Work experience in the Northern Territory was a great opportunity to learn and make valuable networks.

Learning to jugular bleed cattle.

In 2012 I participated in a Beef Cattle Study Tour to the USA and Canada with my parents and other beef cattle producers from Australia and New Zealand. The trip was extremely informative and included a visit to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) headquarters, a trip to the JBS ‘Kunar’ Feedlot and visits to multiple cattle ranches and studs throughout the states.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQfoo46bFaM

Two of the many highlights of our US Beef Study Tour was visiting Padlock Ranch and the NCBA.

Dad, me, my friend Emily and my Mum.

I personally have experienced some of the issues challenging our agricultural industry such as variable climates including extreme droughts and flooding, unstable markets and isolation. I also understand the impact that food security and the growing population (estimated to reach 35.5 million by year 2056) will have on Australia’s agriculture and the demand for increased and sustainable production to feed and clothe the increasing population.

I am standing on the swings at my primary school Begonia in the record floodwaters in 2012. The generosity of people assisting our community during and after the floods was outstanding. 

I believe building relationships with consumers is important in ensuring the stability of Australia’s agriculture. Regarding beef, it is vital for the longevity of the industry, that consumers are comfortable with farm production systems and supply chains.

Communicating quality products, sustainable practices and latest technologies are integral to this relationship. User driven social media is a recent innovation allowing producers to tell their stories and build relationships with consumers. Social media is a 2-way education tool and helps connect farmers with consumers allowing producers to find out what their customers expectations and concerns.

Facebook sites like “Ask An Aussie Farmer” is a great example of stepping forward and connecting with consumers.

I see today’s agricultural industry as exciting and challenging and I feel privileged to be a part of an industry which is so vital to Australia’s future. I look forward to contributing to the industry through my veterinary profession and AGvocacy roles

Today it gives us great pleasure to update you on the journey of Amber O’Neil who we previously profiled here

Amber who hopes to start a vet science course at CSU next year was recently selected for the very prestigious role of RAS Youth In Ag Ambassador at the 2013 Sydney Royal Easter Show

Youth in Ag Day celebrates the contribution young people make to the agricultural industry in NSW and Australia and also highlights the broad range of opportunities available for young people to be involved in this dynamic and rewarding industry

“Our Youth in Ag Day ambassadors are dynamic, innovative champions for the future of the industry, and for rural and regional areas of Australia,” Mr Davey said.
“These ambassadors have been selected because of their passion for agriculture, their involvement in the industry and their strong desire to contribute to its future. They are excellent role models and a wonderful example of the good things young people are doing in their regional communities.”

Amber shares the experience …………………………….

Being selected as a Youth in Ag Ambassador was a great experience and opportunity! Saturday 30^th March 2013 was Youth in Ag Day at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and as an Ambassador it was my role, within a group, to promote agriculture and raise the profile of youth involvement within the industry. We spent the day handing out merchandise, talking to the public and meeting lots of new people.

We started off with a breakfast briefing, where we met all the Youth in Ag Ambassadors and got together before a big day. We were given shirts, caps and badges to wear and a bag of merchandise to hand out at the show. We were then separated into small groups and sent off to different parts of the showground. Our group’s first role was to run the Alpaca Youth Paraders event which we had been organising for months prior to the day. Being part of the alpaca industry allowed our small group to not only run the event but promote the alpaca industry and share our love for the animals and lifestyle with the public. It was a great success, everything running smoothly and all competitors doing everyone proud!

Amber trained all these people for the Alpacas paraders competition at the show and they all got ribbons

During the day we also visited the Food Farm, where we assisted in the movement of crowds and spent several hours talking to the public and promoting agriculture. I had a great time sharing my passion for the industry, talking to people who had never heard the word ‘Ag’ before and sharing my love for animals, agriculture and farming. It was amazing to see so many people interested in an industry that many of them had never experienced before and to tell my story.

Archies in the Food Farm

The Youth in Ag Ambassadors got together again to watch the RAS Young Farmer Challenge, designed to promote excellence in farming and showcase the involvement of youth in agriculture. It was a great event to watch and we all had a good time.

We spent the rest of the day talking to the public and handing out badges and caps, which everyone loved. I had a fantastic day and it was such an amazing opportunity to be a Youth in Ag Ambassador.

See the RAS Youth Group starring our very own Kirsty John (centre) and Young Farming Champions Alumni Heidi Cheney ( far right) 

]]> http://art4agriculturechat.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/ras-youth-in-ag-ambassador-shares-her-journey/feed/ 0 art4agriculturechat clip_image002 clip_image004 sydney royal paraders - henry fulton kids Archies in the Food Farm Youht in Ag day action http://art4agriculturechat.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/the-question-engage-or-educate-and-why-it-matters/ http://art4agriculturechat.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/the-question-engage-or-educate-and-why-it-matters/#comments Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:43:02 +0000 Clover Hill Dairies Diary https://art4agriculturechat.wordpress.com/?p=3839 Continue reading →]]>

If we want our children to know where their food comes from; if we want them to be motivated to care about the lives and livelihoods of farmers; if we want them to take seriously the environmental impacts of their food choices; and if we want them to know more about how their health is affected by the way food is made, perhaps we need to rethink the place of food production

This knowledge has been lost since we all became so reliant on the industrial agriculture system; we should talk to the experts – the farmers – so we can get it back. We don’t just need more urban agricultural initiatives, including food-producing back, front and median-strip gardens, school kitchen gardens, community gardens and city farms. We also need a transfer of knowledge from rural farmers. We need Australia’s farmers to be intimately involved in the development of innovative and efficient urban agricultural practices to assure our future food security.

The Conversation https://theconversation.edu.au/urban-food-knowledge-does-yoghurt-grow-on-trees-in-cities-5777

Art4Agriculture has taken up this challenge through the Archibull Prize. The program uptake this year has been phenomenal with 40 plus schools participating in this fun and engaging initiative that uses art and multimedia to tap into a whole new generation of young people

Original landscape image by Peter Dalder

Our ability to reach more schools particularly in NSW where the program has been running for 3 years has only been limited by funding.

Queensland has been a little more challenging, but experience tells us word of mouth amongst schools, teachers friends and parents will mean Queensland schools will be queuing up in 2014 at the same rate NSW schools are.

The Archibull Prize is not about ‘educating’ people per se about agriculture. We believe it is the only program in the world allowing young people in the agrifood sector to go into schools and engage with the next generation of consumers and decisions makers to build an understanding of each other’s challenges and constraints

I have created this program for two reasons

1. We ALL have to eat so farmers are important and as farmer I know it’s challenging to produce food and fibre in the current climate

2. Young people are our future and its important we invest in them

Personally I am not particularly worried that 27% of kids think yogurt grows on trees or that cotton grows on sheep.

• What is important to me is that young people think farmers are committed, professional and caring
• That the next generation of consumers, decision and policy makers think responsible agriculture is a legitimate user of Australia’s land and water
• That young people don’t hear agricultural intensification and automatically think “factory farming”
• That young people have the knowledge to make informed decisions about genetic modification
• That young people think that farmers like everybody else are entitled to use technology
• That young people want to work not only on my farm but see the agrifood sector as the place they want to be

And it’s working. We know this because the programs outcomes are measurable. Visibly through the artwork the students generate and the blogs, videos and PowerPoints they create. Quantitatively though program entry and exit surveys

What is exciting is our students are very receptive to putting their thinking hats on not only through the progression of their big ideas for their artwork design and also when we pose blog questions like:

1. Why is food production so important for us nationally and globally?
2. Choose one of the challenges faced by farmers and discuss the possible solutions.
3. Why are regional towns and centres so important to the farming community? How will they be affected if changes to farming practices occur?
4. Why is it so important for Australia to produce food for people outside of the country? What do you think would happen if we only worried about ourselves?
5. Why do you think so much food wastage occurs? What actions will you take to help this problem?
6. What does sustainability mean and how can you contribute to the cause? What different choices may you take as a consumer?
7. What is natural resource management? Why do you think it is so important to get right? Think about some of the consequences if we don’t manage these resources properly.

For all those people who are concerned about students’ lack of paddock to plate knowledge our beef, wool, cotton and dairy industry resources our industry bodies send them do an amazing job of sharing this story

Just to prove we have got our strategy right the Victorian Depart of Environment and Primary Industries released the results the Victorian Attitudes to Farming survey in 2012

In summary they found

It is clear that among the Victorian public there is widespread support for farmers and sympathy towards them for the difficulties they face, but also a level of unease about some aspects of the industrialisation and corporate control of agriculture, especially among particular segments of the population.

There is substantial public concern about:

1. Animal welfare
2. Environmental sustainability
3. Farmers’ ability to make a living from farming.
4. Food safety (along with healthy, nutritious and good-tasting food) was viewed by the public as being more important than all other factors.

The research literature shows that concerns about environmental and animal welfare, and about certain other ‘credence attributes’ of foods, have grown among consumers in industrialised countries. In part, this trend stems from the success of industrial agriculture—and of modern distribution systems—in fulfilling western consumers’ basic food needs, by making affordable food abundantly available to most consumers in industrialised nations (though not to the consumers of all countries). Yet the dramatic increases in agricultural productivity achieved during the 20th century have not come without some costs to environmental sustainability, to animal welfare, and to other ‘ethical’ dimensions of food production (even though the severity of these consequences is contested). It appears that, as consumers become more food-secure, wealthier and better educated, many become concerned with addressing these negative consequences.

Our survey indicated that 31% of survey respondents had taken some action—such as protesting or, more often, altering their shopping habits—that could be interpreted as being critical of conventional agriculture (‘critical activism’).

The survey also indicated that 32% of Victorians valued environmental sustainability or animal welfare (or both) highly, and had a relatively low level of trust that farmers would address these issues without coercion.

Most of the individuals surveyed made expressions of unease about some aspects of contemporary agriculture, and such latent concern creates the potential for agriculture to experience periodic controversies or even crises of ‘social authorisation’, as has occurred previously with GM foods, mulesing and (in Europe) Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and in Australia Live Export

The paper then asks and answers the questions

1. How should government interpret and respond to those segments of the population that are critical of current farming practices?
2. Are these individuals’ uninformed and forcing unnecessary and costly restraints on farming practices, or are they well-informed drivers of much-needed progress?

Where do Art4agriculture and the Archibull Prize come in? It would appear that these researchers strong agree with our philosophy

A number of agricultural stakeholders have aspired over the years to resolve controversies over farming issues by educating and engaging the public. The research in this project indicates that while this can make a contribution to resolving such controversies, it will not be sufficient.

The rationale for solving farm controversies by educating the public is premised on the assumption that farm controversies are waged between an ignorant public which needs to be educated and knowledgeable experts who can do the educating. The findings presented in this report show that individuals’ professed levels of knowledge about farming issues are relatively independent of their viewpoint about the issues.

The published literature indicates that differences in individuals’ views on ‘technical’ issues such as environmental sustainability and animal welfare derive not only from their level of attentiveness to scientific or expert knowledge, but also from partially subjective and social judgements about which sources of expert knowledge to trust, in the face of contested expertise

It also shows that cultural perspectives influence experts as well as the lay public, and that such perspectives can become institutionalised.

This suggests that divisions in public opinion cannot be reconciled without some engagement and conciliation between different experts and stakeholder groups. As well as educating the public, agricultural groups in government and industry will also need to listen and respond to concerns raised by the public and by other stakeholders groups (including lobby groups and other branches of government).

Testimonials from the students and our Young Farming Champions for the Archibull Prize

THE IMPACT ON OUR YOUNG FARMING CHAMPIONS

“At the [school] environmental club, the students were really interested in the environmental impacts and challenges the beef industry faced and their questions reflected this rather well. I found myself answering a lot of questions about the need for feedlots, waste management from processors and feedlots and how we can manage beef systems to ensure they are sustainable. The students were very switched on.”

Steph Fowler, Beef Young Farming Champion, 2012

The students had quite a few questions regarding different areas of cotton production – some science questions, some general farming, and others from the teachers that just wanted to know more. I loved the questions I was asked and they weren’t afraid to fire them at me!”

Tamsin Quirk, Cotton Young Farming Champion, 2012

“The school visits were great! I really enjoyed talking to the students and the teachers. Everyone was so excited about their Archibulls and I loved having the chance to look at what they were doing and listen to things they had discovered about agriculture. I also enjoyed being able to talk about my university course and I hope I was able to encourage some of them to think about a career in agriculture.”

Sammi Townsend, Wool Young Farming Champion, 2012

THE IMPACT OF THE ARCHIBULL PRIZE ON STUDENTS

“I had this idea in my head that genetic modification is this horrible idea and agriculture should just go back to the way it was in the ‘50s and after talking about it with our Young Farming Champion and learning about it I cannot love it more, I think science and technology have a definite future in the industry.”

Laura Bunting Student feedback, 2012

You can see Laura talking her school’s experience here

We rest our case