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Tas Scholarship Application 2008

Tas Scholarship Info 2008

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Past winners of the Greenham Tasmania Scholarship

2010: Sandra Bales

25-year-old Sandra Bales from Ringarooma had recently commenced a bachelor of agricultural science degree at the University of Tasmania when she was awarded the 2010 scholarship.

She had originally planned on a career in teaching but deferred that degree and instead travelled to Denmark and Canada on a 15 month agricultural exchange. The experience ignited her passion for agriculture, and the dairy industry in particular. She has worked for a number of years in the local dairy industry and in 2006 undertook a dairy apprenticeship and then went on to complete a certificate IV in agriculture.

Since then she has been a guest speaker at dairy industry conferences and also completed a Tasmanian Rural Community leadership program.

Sandra said the $10,000 Scholarship would be of great assistance in completing her degree.
"The four years at university combined with my previous experience should put me in a good position," she said.

The Mayor of Circular Head, Councillor Daryl Quilliam, presented the Scholarship to Sandra during a luncheon held at Smithton

2009: Robert Snare

2009 Tas Scholarship Winner Robert Snare

19 year old Robert Snare from Boat Harbour has ancestral roots in local farming and wants to contribute to the industry by joining a company servicing farmers, when he achieves his Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree. He enrolled in 2009 at the University of Tasmania for the four-year Bachelor of Agricultural Science course.

Robert has grown up on the farm that his great great grandfather bought at Boat Harbour in 1916. The 62ha family farm, formerly a dairy farm, now agists dairy, Hereford and Angus heifers and is currently building a small beef herd, with twenty breeders calving in spring last year.

During his gap year in 2008 Robert worked for Table Cape Alliance on their cropping, sheep, deer and cattle enterprise, and impressed his employers with his initiative and his practical suggestions to improve efficiency in the work place.

In his scholarship application Robert said that “….. farming has changed, from an enterprise based on experience and sharing of experiences among farmers in a local community, to an exact science where the measurement of inputs and outputs; the chemistry of soils and the biology of plants and animals need to be understood. For me to continue to find a place in the agricultural industry I need to find out these things through the Bachelor of Agricultural Science course.”

2008: Melissa Wheeler

21 year old Melissa Wheeler worked on an Angus and Murray Grey stud near Cressy for three years until commencing an Agribusiness degree at the University of New England at Armidale.

Her impressed employers said that she was completely dedicated to the cattle and capable of carrying out every task related to managing the studs. It didn’t matter whether it was birth weighing, record keeping, breaking in cattle, fencing or moving centre pivots.

Upon completion of her degree, Melissa hopes to work within agribusiness as a consultant.

“I believe that in a professional role such as consulting I will have an impact on the wider industry by assisting primary producers in their farm business decisions. In this way I hope to have a positive impact on the beef industry,” Melissa said.

2007: Rhys Beattie

Growing up on the family farm and developing his own Angus stud in Year 9 gave the 2007 winner a real passion for the improvement of the beef industry.

Eighteen year-old Rhys Beattie from Scottsdale grew up on the family’s beef cattle, fat lamb and cropping property and is studying for a Bachelor of Agriculture degree at the University of Tasmania. He says that his main interests are in animal production, pasture management and nutrition.

“I would like to work towards improving my own herd and hope to have a substantial Angus stud, supplying top line genetics to the industry. The end result would be the passing on of my knowledge to help the beef industry prosper through the availability of a wider range of breeding stock.

“Other areas of interest are plant breeding and nutrition and agronomy. I see all these areas as essential for the improvement of the beef industry.”

2006: Kurt de Jonge

A 22 year-old with a passion for soils and land management, Kurt hopes to graduate from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Natural Environment and Wilderness Studies with Honours.

He is looking forward to enrolling again as an honours student to prepare a thesis based on issues of soil compaction in pasture, especially in relation to irrigated and non-irrigated soils. The scholarship funds have already been earmarked for course costs, books and accommodation at the University's Launceston Campus.

The judges thought that Kurt showed a strong commitment to the beef industry and his industry experience extended beyond just working on the farm. Preservation of the quality of our soils is a very important part of agriculture and Kurt's chosen area of study has the potential to help all grazing and cropping industries.

"I am actually looking forward to completing my studies and getting into a job in some area of soil or land management where I can get my hands dirty," Kurt said. " I think hands-on experience is the best way for me to progress after I graduate."

2005: Jane Sykes

A 19-year old future agronomist, Jane is from Ringarooma in north-eastern Tasmania.

Described as hard-working, tenacious and goal-setting, Jane impressed the judging panel with her commitment to her studies and a willingness to contribute to the future support of the farming industry.

Jane, who believes that with the right knowledge and applied sciences, "every farm can achieve", started her studies at the University of Tasmania (Hobart) in 2005.

She is keen to complete the four-year course to achieve a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences majoring in either agronomy or animal nutrition.

2004: Michael Armstrong

Michael Armstrong won the inaugural Greenham Tasmania Scholarship.

A keen cattle breeder with his own Holstein breeding program, Michael is studying an Advanced Diploma of Agriculture (dairy) at Victoria's McMillan campus at Warragul.

Michael's key objective is to pursue a career in the Australian dairy industry by obtaining a dairy farm management position on a large dairy enterprise.