Tag / Cotton Australia

by Lynne Strong

Young Farming Champions hit the road running

The 2012 Young Farming Champions spent last weekend at Clover Hill Dairies  in Jamberoo undergoing rigorous training to ensure that their school partnerships achieve the best outcomes for the student and farmer participants. They received coaching on how to craft a message so that it is remembered, how to connect with the audience, how to cope with nerves, to making a multimedia presentation, and how to prepare for and answer difficult questions.

This year the Art4agriculture Young Farming Champions will represent the Cattle and Sheep, Cotton, Wool and Dairy industries courtesy of Target 100, Cotton Australia, Australian Wool Innovation and Pauls Milk 

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The workshop was conducted by the delightful genius that is Ann Burbrook

The YFC’s enjoyed hearing anecdotes from both previous YFCs, last year’s school students and their teachers showing what an impact this program can have. From raising awareness of food and fibre production and consumption, to increasing the number of students studying agriculture, as well as challenging stereotypes and setting students on a new career path into the agrifood sector.

Lunch of Champions

Table of champions

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Stephanie Tarlinton YFC alumni and dairy ambassador was on hand to share her 2011 YFC journey with the inductees.  Stephanie’s  “Farm Girls Wear Shoes too” video was quite a hit with the students and the new YFC’s

YFC workshop

Stephanie Tarlinton presents to 2012 YFC’s

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There were food for thought moments for Wool YFC Sammi Townsend

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Pensive moments for Dairy YFC Jess Monteith

“ Wow what a wonderful weekend it was. I was able to learn about other key rural industries to broaden my knowledge and in a sense make me even more passionate about Australian Agriculture and the YFC cause!” said Jess

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Plenty of light moments for Beef YFC Madie Hamilton

Beef Young Farming Champion, Madie Hamilton from Mudgee in NSW was exhausted, but excited at the end of the workshop. “The YFC program is a way for me to give back to an industry that has given me so much. I hope I can entice more people to work in any part of the agricultural industry”

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Beef YFC and Ask an Aussie Farmer creator Kylie Stretton enjoyed her first trip to Sydney.

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Cotton YFC Katie Broughton is doing a PhD researching the potential effects of climate change on the Australian cotton industry. Katie is proud her jeans come from the highest quality cotton in the world and is keen to make it is as easy as possible for our Aussie farmers to keep producing it sustainably    

“It is incredible to work with such a diverse group of young Australians promoting agriculture. The enthusiasm within the group is infectious, and I am excited to be part of a program that is linking people in rural and urban communities.” said Katie

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Our young male dairy YFC Tom Pearce handled the all female company extremely well. He tells me growing up with 3 sisters has given him plenty of insights into the female psyche.But he admits he is looking forward to Sam Adams and Billy Browning joining him next time.

“I’m looking forward to presenting my story to a classroom full of interested young adults and hope to inspire a few to seek opportunities outside of the city.” said Tom

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The launch of this fantastic new resource from Cotton Australia

“How to grow a pair of jeans”

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Katie Broughton and Tamsin Quirk Cotton YFC’s with Sophie Davidson from Cotton Australia

“The weekend confirmed for all participants, that they do have a unique story, that they do have something important to say and that they are in a unique position to say it! These young people already have a flame, they already have a voice and they already have a purpose. This weekend gave them the tools they need to realise that purpose”. said Sophie Davidson from Cotton Australia who joined the YFC’s this weekend

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Beef YFC’s Madie Hamilton, Hayley Piggott and Kylie Stretton (front)

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Dairy YFC’s Jess Monteith and Tom Pearce

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Wool YFC’s Lauren Crothers, Sammi Townsend and Wool YFC Ambassador Kathleen Allan

Wool Young Farming Champion, Lauren Crothers from Dirranbandi in Queensland said the weekend was one of the most enjoyable she has had this year. “It provided the opportunity to meet with like minded individuals who share a common interest, inspiring the people of Australia and encouraging them to be part of the amazing Agricultural Industry.”

The Young Farming Champions are now working on their videos and industry presentations prior to meeting again in August to review their progress. They will visit their allocated schools in metropolitan Sydney and Brisbane in September this year.

The 2012 Young Farming Champions are:

  • Kylie Stretton, Charters Towers, QLD – Beef Industry
  • Hayley Piggott, Rolleston, QLD – Beef Industry
  • Madeleine Hamilton, Sydney, NSW – Beef & Sheep Industry
  • Billy Browning, Narromine, NSW – Cotton Industry
  • Katie Broughton, Narrabri, NSW – Cotton Industry
  • Tamsin Quirk, Moree, NSW – Cotton Industry
  • Jessica Monteith, Berry, NSW – Dairy Industry
  • Tom Pearce, Bega, NSW – Dairy Industry
  • Lauren Crothers, Dirranbandi, QLD – Wool Industry
  • Kathleen Allan, Yass, NSW – Wool Industry
  • Sammi Townsend, Lyndhurst, NSW – Wool Industry
  • Samuel Adams, Armidale, NSW – Wool Industry
  • Bronwyn Roberts, Emerald QLD – Natural Resource Management /Beef
  • Stephanie Fowler, Richmond NSW – Beef

Our 2012 Art4agriculture Ambassadors are

  • Catherine Marriott, Perth, WA – Beef Industry
  • Melissa Henry, Boorowa, NSW – Wool Industry
  • Kathleen Allan, Yass, NSW – Wool Industry

We have had lots of superb YFC applicants this year and hope to invite some of them to join the program next year. If your industry would like to invest in its young people and sponsor a Young Farming Champion send me an email I would love to talk to you lynnestrong@art4agriculture.com.au 

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NSW – the faces of the future

by Lynne Strong

Life is what you make it and agriculture is the life I want

This is the second in our series on Cotton Australia’s Young Farming Champions for 2012.  As it turns out Billy Browning is very special indeed. Not just because he is our first male young farming champion but because everyone I have spoken to tells me he has a view of the world that we all readily admit we embraced. That is life is what you make. Grab it with both hands and make it happen. One of those people was John Bennett from Landmark who said “Simple words from me can not describe just how remarkable this young man is. I have no doubt that in years to come our industry and indeed, society will benefit from the experiences that Billy receives now.” Like Cotton Australia we are thrilled that we can play a small role in defining the future by investing in agriculture’s rising stars like Billy

Did you know that our family farm will produce cotton this year that will make over 860,000 pairs of jeans. Even better than that cotton is only part of a portfolio of food and fibres our family farm produces to feed and clothe Australians and many other people around the globe

My name is Billy Browning and I am pretty excited about that.

Billy Browning (1)

In fact I am pretty excited and proud of Australian agriculture in general.

Let me tell you why

Did you know rural, regional and remote Australia occupies 99 per cent of Australia’s landmass and supports 7.7 million people and is the source of close to 70% of our country’s export earnings?

It may also interest you to know the agribusiness sector employs close to 1 million people and has a combined value of over $200 billion per year. Our farmers are custodians of over 60 per cent of our landmass and the world’s third largest fishing zone.

We grow and produce over 93 per cent of our domestic food supply and export 80 per cent of total gross value. Not only that but our scientific research base is world class and our disease free, high quality produce underpins increasing overseas demand as our four billion Asian neighbours seek greater quantities of animal protein.

When you look at it like that you can see agriculture and its related support sectors are of great importance to our national economy and wellbeing. It is once you realise this that you can see the opportunities for young agricultural enthusiasts and the networks that are available.

I am excited my future lies with agriculture and this is my story…

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I was born and grew up in the small town of Narromine located in the central west of NSW.  It is here that my passion for agriculture first started. I live on a 3rdgeneration property located on the Macquarie River called ‘Narramine station.’ It has been my home all my life and hopefully will stay that way.

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Harvesting wheat, Narramine Station, Narromine, December 1903

A convoy of five stripper harvesters and 10 strippers make short work of 5500 acres of wheat grown on the property. On the right can be seen a genuine one-horse-power tread winnower beside grain bags awaiting transport. The railhead at Narromine shipped as many as 103 waggon loads of grain in a day during the harvest.
Find more information about the Melvin Vaniman collection of photographic panoramas in the State Library of New South Wales’ catalogue: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemdetailpaged.aspx?itemid=413018

The property is 2276 hectares and was purchased in 1975 by my parents. 62% of the farm has access to irrigation water (in the good times) and we have both irrigated and dry land broad-acre cropping. We grow wheat, canola, cotton and corn just to name the major ones depending on the seasonal conditions and availability of water. This year water is in plentiful supply and we have 400 hectares of irrigated cotton.

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To harvest this crop we will be employing 18 people for cotton picking  which include 4 picker drivers, 6 module makers, 2 boll buggy drivers, 2 truck drivers and 4 ground crew.

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The machinery on farm today looks a whole lot different to 1903!!!!!

The previous ten years of drought has led to many on farm innovations and we have realigned our farm business strategy to adapt to limited amounts of water and ensure long-term sustainability with increased hectares of dryland production. (Art4ag says BTW great story on this in The Land from 2010 can be found here)

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Me as a young farmer

My parents tell me that my third word was ‘tractor,’ behind ‘mum and dad’ that is. As a kid I would always be going to work with dad and often known for falling asleep on the floor of the header during harvest. By the age of 5, I was driving manual vehicles around the farm and by the age of 13, I was part of the workforce, driving tractors as a contractor on neighbouring properties.

I also tried my hand fairly successfully at junior competitions at local shows gaining 1st places in sheep wool and cotton judging

My passion for agriculture increased when my parents sent me away to boarding school in year 7. At Knox Grammar School I studied agriculture in year 11 and 12 and this is where I became fascinated by the science and technology that underpins agriculture.

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The future – How can we be the change that needs to be. 

Firstly currently agriculture is facing a workforce shortage due in part to the ageing of its workforce.  Within seven years, close to 57 per cent of our existing workforce will be over 55 and half of our agricultural scientists are already nearing retirement.  I believe we can attract talented young people to agriculture by showing the innovation and productivity gains that drive the farming sector in this country using young people from within the industry to spread the message that farming is the business to be in for all the right reasons

Secondly it is fundamentally important that we get young people on farms to make the direct connection between the food and fibre and the farm.  On-farm experience is where the greatest knowledge is gained, even if it is only a few hours, anybody that is even considering a career in agriculture should try and gain as much experience as possible in my eyes. The truth is; it is not hard at all to gain experience, there are so many industries out there that are willing to take you around for a day or that are running workshops. For those thinking of being agronomists, call up your local agronomist and just simply ask whether you can go for a run with him to a local farm and just gain an insight, for those wanting to focus more on the economics of agricultural, make a simple phone call to your local bank and ask whether they have an agricultural branch and whether it is possible to come in and just ask some simple questions, their answer will be yes. That is the greatest factor about the industry is that everyone is willing to give everyone a chance.

Obviously my love for agriculture has grown via the farm, I work full-time on the farm when I am home. I am involved in all operations, irrigation, harvest, picking, spraying, earth-moving, sowing and general farm maintenance. This has led me to realise the important relationship between farm inputs and outputs and why smart business thinking is they key to sustainable farming. This realisation has lead me to studying agricultural economics at the University of Sydney.

Support Networks Abound

I am fortunate enough to have gained a Sydney University Rural Sustainability scholarship and be an Horizon scholar. I mention these scholarships to show people that it is possible to get into university and follow your dreams even if you don’t get the marks or have the funds, there are so many scholarships on offer for people wanting to be involved in agriculture and wishing to enter the industry, you just have to go searching!

So this is my story to date and i hope it has show you like me you can have a bright future in the agriculture sector. I encourage those with an interest or even a niggling to go and ask questions as many questions as you would like There are plenty of people wanting to help.

Although I haven’t decided on what part of the industry I want to end up in, I know that I am trying to make the most of the opportunities out there and taking on everything along the way.

Just remember it’s a learning curve – and mistakes will be made along the way but my experience tells me there are plenty of people and support networks in agriculture and the rewards are worth it .

by Lynne Strong

Cotton on to Cotton with Tamsin

Art4agriculture has a brand new partnership with the cotton industry and we are very excited about it

Cotton Australia is investing in their next generation of farmers and inspiring people who support farmers and we have identified a number of cotton industry rising stars who will be sharing their stories with you via Art4agricultureChat over the coming months

Our first cab off the rank is Tamsin Quirk …….

 

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About Me

If anyone had said to me seven years ago that I’d be a student at the University of New England completing a Bachelor of Agriculture I don’t think I would have believed them.

Coming from a non-farming background with both my parents in the health industry, I felt like I didn’t have the skills nor the knowledge to go into an agriculture related career.

Not only have I have learnt new things and developed new skills, I have formed lasting friendships and networks that are truly invaluable.

As A Kid

I grew up in Moree in NSW and it is cotton country.  Its is also quite famous for its Hot Mineral Baths which were were discovered accidentally when searching for irrigation water in 1895. 300,000 visitors of all ages visit annually and many believe in the healing powers of the Artesian mineral waters.

The streets are filled with Toyota land cruisers and an array of other utes and 4WD’s – I love coming home from the city, or uni, to see three or four muddy big Toyotas parked down the main street. Another thing I absolutely love is the dress code, every second person is wearing a pair of boots and jeans with their sleeves rolled up, and then you’ll get the occasional Agri-Business guy walk past in his polished R.M Williams boots and moleskins. There is always and will always be a rural feel to the place which is what I love, and I think “how could you want to be anywhere else?” It’s so easy-going and has such a sense of community. Everyone says hello in the street and everyone knows who you are.

I’d lived in town until I was 12 and had never really been involved in agriculture, but once we moved out onto a bit of land, things changed.

My first introduction to the cotton industry was in primary school and I remember looking out the window and seeing the huge pieces of machinery being escorted past the school during harvests and cotton season, and being inquisitive as to what they did and how they worked.  Check out the latest innovations in Cotton Picking here

Cotton Picker

Can you imagine how city people look when they see these monsters driving down the main street of Moree

Where it all began…

For one of my year 9 and 10 elective subjects at school I chose Agriculture. This was when my passion sparked. I had never reallyknown where I wanted to go in life until then. My agriculture teacher specialised in agronomy and this opened up an exciting world I had never really been exposed to. She was so enthusiastic about Ag. Walking through a paddock to check the veggie garden, the whole class would be pulled up to get a 5-minute rundown on a weed she’d just walked past and it was amazing to see someone so passionate, confident and knowledgeable; and it wasn’t just one weed, it’d be two or three on the way down and at least another one on the way back. I suddenly wanted to know about all the ins and outs of crop production and with cotton being so widely grown in the area, it was hard not to become involved. I soon was topping my Agricultural class in year 10 which resulted in me receiving the Dallas Parsons Memorial Award, which is given to students who have worked hard and been identified as having a bright future in Agriculture.

Years 11 and 12 saw me add Primary Industries to my studies and then I really saw my future opening up, I was topping the classes again and I couldn’t wait for every Ag and Primary Industries lesson. Although both the classes weren’t very big (with only 5 girls sitting the HSC Agriculture exam and me and one other boy sitting the Primary Industries one) I  had so much fun and learnt so much about the important industries that feed, clothe and house us from doing the subjects. I got to the point where I wanted to do nothing else as a career, and Agriculture was my soul focus.

Hard work, passion and commitment delivers cotton to my door

Coming towards the end of year 12 I set my eye on winning the Auscott Scholarship.Every year the local Auscott cotton ginning company awards this scholarship to a local Moree year 12 student who has worked hard and has persistence and enthusiasm for the career that they want to take. The scholarship is worth $11,500 for every year of study for 3 or 4 years. After a long process of waiting in anticipation I was shortlisted and then had a phone call to say that I had been chosen to be the recipient. The scholarship will be a massive aid for helping to pay for my accommodation and textbooks as well as giving me a contact network as I go forward to a career in the cotton industry.

Cotton Scholarship

Auscott “Midkin” farm manager Sean Boland with the recipient of the award Tamsin Quirk, and her parents Shayne and David Quirk –  Photo courtesy of Moree Champion read the full story here.

Learning, learning…

As my knowledge for agriculture grows, so does my passion and I realise and appreciate how lucky I was to have grown up in a community underpinned by the cotton industry. Our local cotton farms are family run businesses and cotton is the economic and social lifeblood of our community

I realised that not everybody had highways that looked like some-one had just busted a thousand pillows open all over the side of the road, and trucks all loaded up with wheat and cotton weren’t a regular thing in the main streets of other towns.

Cotton Cotton Everywhere

Does it get more beautiful than images like this?

The most important thing 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.

The cotton industry is very lucky indeed to have Tamsin don’t you think?