30 under 30 agricultural leaders from South East Queensland
Agricultural leaders across the Darling Downs, Southern Downs and Lockyer Valley have been recognised in a special 30 under 30 list. Find out who made the cut here.
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South East Queensland, including the Darling Downs, Southern Downs and Lockyer Valley, are home to young agricultural professionals, leading the way through a tough industry.
The Chronicle has compiled a list of 30 people 30 years or younger who are leading the way in our region for future generations.
Craig Reithmuller
Normally growing forage sorghum and oat, 27-year-old Craig Reithmuller has always wanted to own a farm, and now has a property at Maclagan.
Mr Reithmuller said while Reithmuller Farming uses the forage to make hay or cut for silage, and the oats to fatten the cattle, the drought has been a challenge through the years, on a farm he runs by himself and at times with the help of family.
He has encouraged anyone interested in farming to “get in and have a go”.
Sally Ziesemer
Darling Downs entrepreneur Sally Ziesemer, 25, has used her own backyard as inspiration for a business dedicated to bringing a piece of her home into yours.
Ms Ziesemer recently launched Home Soil – a business that sells bunches of wheat from the two farms she calls home.
The business has gained wide popularity, and while the wheat season has come to an end, Ms Ziesemer has said she was keen to sell additional homegrown goods.
Dr Jaz Skinner
An animal science lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland, Jaz Skinner said the importance of agriculture was crucial moving forward, with her research previously looking into heat stress mitigation in livestock.
“It’s my job to instil those values and interest in our students to lead them to be the future leaders and researchers for our industry,” she said.
Ms Skinner, 30, studied a Bachelor of Applied Science at UQ and has completed a PhD, looking into vitamin K and bone functioning in horses.
Molly Sage
In 2020, JBS Beef City mill foreperson Molly Sage was crowned Young Lot Feeder of the Year for the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association, for her plan to introduce carbon reduction and sustainable operations ideas into feedlots to lower CO2 emissions and be “100x more cost effective” than canola meal.
Ms Sage was born in Dalby, and grew up on Jimbour Station where her father was second in charge.
Ms Sage now works for Stockyard Beef as the sustainability officer at their Kerwee Feedlot in Jondaryan.
Jessie Harper
Named the 2021 UQ Graduate of the year, Jessie Harper has paved her way in the agricultural industry through continued academic achievements, a coveted scholarship, an international study tour, becoming a tutor and now undertaking a PhD.
Growing up on a small beef property in the Lockyer Valley, Ms Harper said her passion and love for agriculture grew from childhood experiences on the land.
“My fondest childhood memory is visiting my grandparents’ farm, picking and eating fruit from the trees, eating grandma’s cooking, and playing with the animals – pet dogs, sheep, cattle, parrots and chickens,” she said.
Ms Harper has focused her attention on global food production, stemming from an Indonesian study tour.
“We saw first-hand the challenges of food security facing the world and I understood the importance of agriculture in alleviating poverty,” she said.
“I believe that helping improve agriculture in developing countries can lead to positive social change, helping build the capacity of farmers.”
Anjali Krishnaa Warrier
After a devastating car accident left her with spinal and brain injuries in 2016, 28-year-old Anjali Krishnaa Warrier was determined more than ever to reach her dream of becoming a veterinarian, through her studies at the University of Queensland Gatton campus.
“I knew it would be hard because my memory in 2019 was pathetic and I couldn’t remember things from the day before,” she said.
“But I told myself I am going to work hard because this is what I want, and this is meant to be.”
At the end of 2021, Mrs Warrier graduated from her veterinary science degree, and at the start of 2022, secured a job as a veterinarian.
Helen Woodland
In its second year of helping the next generation of agribusiness operators reach their potential, Helen Woodland stepped up to take on the role of chair of the AgForce Young Producers’ Council this year after serving as deputy chair during the council’s inaugural year in 2021.
Working to forge new connections between people working the land to agribusiness professionals, Ms Woodland has previous experience as export project officer at Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise, working with agriculture and supply chain industries across Southern Queensland and on the world stage.
If that wasn’t enough, the 30-year-old is also a mother to a seven month old.
Dr Chelsea Janke
Working closely within the Toowoomba and Gatton regions, soil science researcher Dr Chelsea Janke, 28, grew up on a sugarcane farm in north Queensland and said her interest has always been based in agriculture.
However, her senior year of high school spurred her interest to use agriculture to combat real-world problems.
Currently, Dr Janke is setting up a glasshouse experiment at the QDAF Leslie Research Facility in Toowoomba.
“My research aims to understand the reactions and movement of key nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) applied to agricultural soils, how different soil characteristics can influence these processes, and what this means for availability to plants,” she said.
Anthony O’Dwyer
GLD Dalby Livestock manager Anthony O’Dwyer has worked win the region for the past 11 years, and in 2019, was awarded the ALPA National Young Auctioneer at 25.
Mr O’Dwyer has always wanted to work within agriculture and grew up on a small family farm in Roadvale, Queensland.
Mr O’Dwyer continues to sell cattle in Dalby each week.
Louise Venz
Originally working within the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and Southern Queensland Country Tourism, Louise Venz has been named a truly outstanding individual within her current role with Eco-Markets Australia.
Ms Venz is the operations and marketing officer with Eco-Markets Australia, focused on providing a platform for land managers and investors to come together, support environmental markets and facilitate payments for ecosystem services.
Logan Torrance
Growing up on the Darling Downs, Logan Torrance, 23, was always fascinated with engineering, and in 2020, would graduate with a degree in it.
Though he has relocated to Orange, New South Wales, Mr Torrance spent several years as a USQ undergraduate Research Assistance, focused on researching and developing fully autonomous/self driving tractor technology.
“I loved being able to work on cutting edge technology with Deere and the Centre for Ag Engineering to make farming more efficient and productive,” he said.
Now a graduate automation engineer with Newcrest Mining, one of the tasks Mr Torrance is responsible for is to scope, develop and deploy an inspection robot to autonomously navigate levels of a working underground gold mine.
Fraser Border
A University of Southern Queensland PhD student, Fraser Border, 27, has focused his sights on automation engineering within agriculture, where he is currently part of the university’s Centre for Agricultural Engineering.
As well as creating a technology and education start-up to integrate real-world STEM technologies into schools, Mr Border was last year also awarded the top honour at the 2021 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
His research explores techniques to avoid yield losses in the red meat processing industry currently worth an estimated $89 million.
“This is an incredible opportunity to address a number of the issues being faced by the industry, using advanced sensing and imagery equipment, as well as robotics technology,” Mr Border said.
Payel Sinha
University of Southern Queensland PhD student Payel Sinha, 30, specialises in organic waste management (biosolids, biochar, digestate management) and their land application as soil conditioner, aiming to develop innovative solutions in the agricultural-environmental industry.
Ms Sinha has been educated as a biotechnology graduate and postgraduate.
Andrew and Raneece Lerch
Married couple and now business owners, Andrew and Raneece Lerch recently took over the management of Andrew’s family’s farm in the Lockyer Valley.
Lerch Farms at Forest Hill has run for four generations and specialises in a variety of vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, beetroots, cauliflower and more.
Raneece grew up on a vegetable farm and Andrew was trained as a diesel mechanic, before meeting and making the move back to the family’s 430 acres farm.
Nicole Blanck
Before venturing to the Lockyer Valley to undertake a Bachelor of Agribusiness and now working at AGT Foods Australia in Toowoomba, Darling Downs 2022 showgirl Nicole Blanck grew up on a cattle property in Bell.
“I’m a fourth generation farmer and while I work in Toowoomba I still have a lot of family out there,” Ms Blanck said.
“I do my best to get out there and work on the property.
“I do love living on the farm where you can jump on a horse and go and check out the cattle,” she said.
“I definitely want to end up back on a property.”
Kieran Bourke
Dairy farmer Kieran Bourke operates Bourke Farms with his family on a property at Gladfield near Warwick.
Mr Bourke has completed a Bachelor of Agribusiness and worked and travelled closely with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) Queensland.
In 2016, Mr Bourke gained attention after creating a day in the life of a dairy farmer video which went viral.
Growing up on the farm was “the best upbringing any kid could have,” according to Kieran who started working on the family farm as soon as he was old enough to hold a bucket to feed the calves.
Wyatt Wrigley
Growing up on a property at Bell, Wyatt Wrigley found himself years later as a livestock auctioneer competing on a state level.
In 2021, Mr Wrigley was a finalist in the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association Queensland Young Auctioneer Competition.
Mr Wrigley currently works at Eastern Rural as a livestock sales/auctioneer, and uses his experience of working on the family farm to showcase his knowledge of the cattle industry.
Jake Robinson
Originally from Tamworth, Jake Robinson relocated to Dalby last year, where he was quickly recognised as a finalist in the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association Queensland Young Auctioneer Competition for 2021.
Now, Mr Robinson is leading the way as an livestock auctioneer with Nutrien Ag Solutions in Dalby.
Mitch Brimblecombe
Taking over the management of his family’s farm at Forest Hill at just 20 years old, Mitch Brimblecombe has continued to lead by example for younger farmers and growers across the district.
The family farm grows vegetables, cotton and grains on its Lockyer Valley property, with Mr Brimblecombe assisting other growers through the Lockyer Valley Growers organisation.
Manager of Moira Farming, Mr Brimblecombe and his family also took on the family’s Kalbar dairy farm several years ago.
Andrew Mildren
Vegetable grower on the Lockyer Valley, Andrew Mildren, has grown up working on the land.
Assisting his family operate Reck Farms near Gatton, Mr Mildren reportedly specialises in the planting, fertilising application and harvesting schedule of potatoes, as well as the farm’s variety of vegetables including broccoli and beetroot.
Now, his passion is flowing through the next generations – his children.
Dr Jacob Humpal
A lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland’s School of Agriculture and the Environment, Dr Jacob Humpal is shaping younger minds around robotics used in agriculture.
Aged 27, Dr Humpal relocated from the US and his projects centre on robotics and machine vision, which is used to automate plant production on Earth and in space.
Lachlan Clewley
Starting from scratch, Lachlan Clewley commended his parents who started the family-run dairy farm Wala-Anna in Kulpi for how far it has come.
“We’re where we are because of everything we have done for the farm – we have built everything ourselves,” he said.
At just 24, Mr Clewley was trained as an electrician, and came back to the farm to manage the maintenance side of the farm and help with the cattle and crops.
While he enjoys his work, Mr Clewley said the good seasons certainly help, and he sees himself continuing in the farm for the years to come.
Max Reilly
At just 21, Max Reilly always knew he would end up in agriculture, working on the multiple family-run farms across the Darling Downs.
Specialising as pig farmers, Mr Reilly said everyone gets in and gets the job done, and it’s something he loves doing and sees himself continuing for a long time to come.
The multiple farms across the region run under Reilly Pastoral Co, spearheaded by Max’s dad, Andrew.
Prue Bottomley
Coming off a cattle property in Central Queensland, Prue Bottomley had interest in crop pathology, and after completing a degree in agriculture at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus, is now working as a research assistant at USQ, while undertaking a PhD.
Ms Bottomley, 29, has focused on investigating if soil solarisation can be used to remove disease from soil, particularly after pathologists introduce it for testing purposes.
Tom Coggan
As a fifth-generation farmer, Tom Coggan, 22, is currently completing a masters degree with UQ while working closely on family farm, Coggan Farms.
Mr Coggan said his passion lies in agriculture, and has focused his thesis on lamb castration and performance on feedlot environment.
With a sample size of more than 400 sheep on the family property, Mr Coggan said his piece will be scientifically strong and have a commercial purpose in the industry.
Jasmine Boxsell
The commercial and R & D manager for Consolidted pastoral Company (CPC), Jasmine Boxsell works closely with various businesses in the procurement, supply and strategy around animal products, supplements and product import into the business.
In 2022, Ms Boxsell was awarded the Nuffield Scholarship, with the goal to assess the potential challenges and opportunities for carbon reduction and sequestration in Australian’s northern pastoral industry.
Ms Boxsell, 30, grew up on a small property in Caboolture.
Pieter van Jaarsveld
Working closely with the AgForce Young Producers council, various governing bodies, and his family’s farm, Pieter van Jaarsveld has already created a strong name for himself at 24 years old.
Managing the family property, Delamira, at Gore, Mr van Jaarsveld said he also manages a full commercial breeding program, selling meat to the domestic market, and developing breeding stock for commercial producers. The family farm consists of sheep and goat, with the drought limiting their cattle numbers.
In 2021, Mr van Jaarsveld was also the recipient of Nuffield Farming Scholar.
His project looks at how to ultimately crossbreed rangeland and Boer goats in the Australian goat industry, but also look further into value add aspects for the entire carcass and value chain.
Tim George
As an agricultural engineer with AgDSA, Tim George has continued to lead by example, specialising in farm dam design, large-scale design projects and water network analyses for major feedlot expansions.
The 27-year-old is a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) and is already being called upon by state government agencies to provide input on new water regulation, policies and guidelines.
This year, Mr George will be appointed as a Director of AgDSA alongside Matt Norton and Tim Sullivan.
Chelsea Hartwig
Employed as the AgForce Queensland School to Industry Partnership Program (SIPP) Project Support Officer, Ms Hartwig, 21, said she found her passion for agriculture through school programs and working on her family’s cattle farm.
Now, she hopes to give it back to the region and inspire today’s youth to step into a career in agriculture.
“I believe I have the best and one of the most important jobs in the world. Educating the next generation about where their food and fibre comes from is vital and identifying clear career pathways into the sector will hopefully increase employment within agriculture,” she said.
“You only know what you know and our future lies in the next generation so why not educate them.”
While working with AgForce, Ms Hartwig also manages the family farm Hartwig Pastoral Co north of Toowoomba and show their Charolais Stud Cattle at the local shows most weekends.
Benny Endicott-Davies
Previously studying a degree in plant science at the University of Queensland, Benny Endicott-Davies used his knowledge of agriculture to establish his business H2Grow, a hydroponic facility, near Gatton in the Lockyer Valley.
Established with the assistance of fiance Chelsea Johnston, Mr Endicott-Davies has stood out with his ambition and techniques used within the business its in eight years of operation.
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Originally published as 30 under 30 agricultural leaders from South East Queensland
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