Home Page45 the new 25 for Tassie farmers: $10,000 Greenham Tasmania Scholarship launched
2005-11-14
An exciting new opportunity to undertake further education related to any sector of the dairy or beef industries has been announced today for Tasmanian farmers, their immediate families and employees – and unlike most scholarships you don’t have to be coming out of secondary school to qualify.
For the first time, the prestigious Greenham Tasmania Scholarship is now open to people between 17 and 45 years of age, providing an opportunity for would-be mature-aged students to apply for up to $10,000 to help them undertake formal study or a recognised training program of any kind.
Created and funded by Greenham Tasmania Pty Ltd, the scholarship is open to people who have supplied cattle to the company’s Smithton meat processing plant since January 1, 2005, as well as their immediate family, sharefarmers and employees. When the scholarship first started two years ago, applicants had to be under 25 years of age to qualify and only the immediate family of suppliers could apply.
Announcing the new-look scholarship today, Greenham Tasmania Manager Peter Greenham said the company decided to expand the criteria to meet an emerging need.
"Many older farmers are keen to improve their skills and there are people working on local farms who are also keen to study but often short of funds. While there are quite a few scholarship opportunities for secondary students keen to move on to university, there are far fewer options for the more mature among us," Mr Greenham said.
He said the continuation of the scholarship underlined the company’s commitment to Tasmania and the future of its beef and dairy sectors.
"Ongoing training and education is crucial to the future sustainability and development of both industries. The scholarship is a way of encouraging young people to consider a future in agriculture and of helping established farmers stay on the land with new skills and the capacity to feel confident and build a strong business for the family.
"It is also a way for us to give something back to the many farming families who have been loyal suppliers to the company since we took over the Smithton plant about three years ago," Mr Greenham said.
People can use the scholarship to undertake farming-related courses, or studies related to any other sector of either industry that will ultimately benefit dairying or beef cattle production, such as dairy food technology or veterinarian science.
The Greenham Scholarship is awarded on a range of criteria including:
- how the applicant will use the money to improve their skills and knowledge;
- how important the scholarship is to them being able to realise their ambitions;
- potential benefits to the dairy industry or farm enterprise; and
- previous academic, industry and/or personal achievements.
The winner will be selected by an independent panel, which will comprise representatives from education, community and dairy research sectors.
Greenham Tasmania is a subsidiary of HW Greenham & Sons Pty Ltd, which has six generations of involvement in the Australian meat industry and close links to dairy and beef producers.
The scholarship is an expansion of a similar program set up by HW Greenham and Sons five years ago. The company now presents two scholarships, each worth $10,000, with one designated for families supplying cattle to its Tongala plant in northern Victoria, and the other for families supplying the Smithton plant.
Applications for the Greenham Tasmania Scholarship close on January 31, 2006, and the winner is due to be announced in late February 2006.
Application forms and information sheets are available by phoning Porter Novelli on (08) 8272 8699, faxing a request to (08) 8272 8355 or e-mailing to adelaide@porternovellisa.com.au