Home Page$10,000 dairy scholarship now open to sharefarmers and mature-aged students
2004-11-10
$10,000 dairy scholarship now open to sharefarmers and mature-aged students
An exciting new opportunity to undertake further education related to any sector of the dairy industry was announced today for older farmers, sharefarmers and people employed on local dairy farms.
The well-known $10,000 Greenham Dairy Scholarship is now open to people between 17 and 45 years of age. Created and funded by HW Greenham and Sons, the scholarship is also now open for the first time to employees and sharefarmers working with suppliers of cattle to the company’s Tongala meat processing plant.
In previous years, applicants had to be 17 to 25 years of age and immediate family members of suppliers to qualify.
Making the announcement today, managing director Peter Greenham said the company had decided to expand the criteria after consultation with the dairy industry to meet an emerging need, particularly in northern Victoria and southern NSW.
“Many older farmers are keen to study and improve their skills and there are many 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 others,” Mr Greenham said.
Mr Greenham said the continuation of the scholarship, now in its fifth year, and the extension of the criteria underlined the company’s ongoing commitment to people of the district and the future of the Australian dairy industry.
“Education is crucial to the future sustainability and development of the dairy industry, to keep families and their children on the land and continuing in business,” Mr Greenham said.
“The scholarship is a way of encouraging young people to consider a future in the Australian dairy industry and of helping established farmers stay on the land with new skills and the capacity to feel confident to compete in the industry and build a strong business for the family.
“This is extremely critical, especially at a time when farmers in most dairy regions are still recovering from the devastating effects of drought and growing economic pressures.
“It is also a way for us to give something back to the many farming families who have been loyal suppliers to the company," he said.
People can use the scholarship to undertake farming-related courses, or studies related to any other sector of industry that ultimately benefits dairying, 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 for study to improve their skills and knowledge of the dairy industry;
- why the scholarship is important to them realising their ambitions and the potential benefits to the industry or farm enterprise;
- previous academic, industry and/or personal achievement;
- career ambitions; and
- written references.
The winner will be selected by an independent panel comprising representatives from education, community and dairy research sectors, including Kyabram Secondary College, Campaspe Shire Council, Australian Dairy Farmers and Dairy Australia
Mr Greenham said that since the program was instigated it had been extremely encouraging to discover so many young people who had the talent, ambition and commitment to want to build a better future for the dairy industry and themselves.
“It’s also been a great pleasure to see how the scholarship has benefited previous winners,” he said.
Greenham Dairy Scholarship 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
Information sheet and application forms can also be downloaded from the relevant page on www.greenham.com.au
Applications will close on January 31, 2005.