Nuffield scholarship 2021 winners announced
Three Victorian farmers were today named as winners of the prestigious Nuffield scholarships. Discover who they are and what their studies will focus on.
MUSHROOM grower Georgia Beattie doesn’t want to kept in the dark when it comes to the opportunities to recycle spent mushroom compost.
And by winning a Nuffield scholarship it seems the chief executive of Bulla Park – Australia’s biggest organic mushroom farm – at Diggers Rest will no longer be.
Ms Beattie was one of three Victorian farmers named yesterday as winners of the prestigious scholarships. As part of her studies she will investigate the potential for spent mushroom compost to be used to create mushroom packaging or regenerate soils.
Other Victorian winners were Michael Densham from Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula, who will look at how the design of intensive production systems can drive increased productivity and profitability of small-scale farming operations and Lucy Collins from Dixie in southwest Victoria, who will study the value of dairy welfare benchmarking opportunities for marketing Australian dairy products with an ethical advantage.
In addition to the three Victorian scholars, six are from Queensland, four from NSW, four from Western Australia, two from South Australia and one from Tasmania.
The NSW scholars include Andrew Rolfe from Cooma, who will research intensive management techniques and models for Merino sheep, and Claire Petterson from Collingullie, near Wagga Wagga, whose studies will focus on global biosecurity practices that can be implemented in hay production businesses.
Coonawarra winemaker Hans Loder will represent South Australia and investigate vineyard data collection and management options that provide greatest value and insights. Tasmanian Charles Downie, from Gretna, will study how the establishment of training modules and programs in agricultural businesses can help better attract an existing workforce to meet short-term labour requirements.
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