‘When it comes to the future of ag it’s all about the next gen’

Meet the 23-year-old Cambooya girl who is is passionate about inspiring the next generation to take up careers in agriculture ahead of next week’s Royal Toowoomba Show.

It's been three years since the Toowoomba region was fortunate enough to be represented by a rural ambassador and Portia Baskerville is certainly keen to make up for the lost time by sharing her passion for agriculture with the next generation.

The Rural Ambassador Award is a national competition that highlights and celebrates young people (aged 20-30) who have a genuine interest in rural and regional Australia or New Zealand.

The award aims to provide an opportunity for these young people to promote their rural communities and industries, as well as to be involved in promoting the importance of agriculture and food production.

A Cambooya local and proud advocate of the Darling Downs’ food and fibre industries, Ms Baskerville said she is eager to represent her local agricultural heritage at next weekend’s Royal Show and hopefully beyond.

Portia Baskerville is the 2021 Agforce Rural Ambassador for Toowoomba. Picture: Nev Madsen.

“I’ve been working in the agricultural industry for several years as a member of the team at AgEtal, an independent seed and grain research and testing laboratory based in Wilsonton,” she said.

“I’ve also been fortunate to be involved with the formerly government funded program Moo Baa Munch (now known as Ag Discoveries and funded by AgForce) which aims to educate more children about all the different careers the ag industry can offer and encourage more kids to choose ag pathways after school.

“Educating and encouraging the next generation of young farmers is really where my passions lie because as the years go by we’re seeing more and more families leaving the land so it’s vital we try and get as many kids interested in ag as we can.”

The Rural Ambassador Award seeks to identify and recognise the next generation of leaders who have a strong commitment to agricultural industries and an involvement and or a genuine interest for the agricultural show movement at a local, state and national levels.

Ms Baskerville will enter the next level of the rural ambassador competition at the sub-chamber final as part of the Toowoomba Royal Show on the Saturday.

From here the winner competes in the state final held during the Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane (EKKA).