A cattleman from Roma, Jack Groat is the inaugural recipient of the Lachlan Hughes Foundation scholarship.
He was selected by an independent panel from a strong field from around Australia, and will now be provided with support to attend training at the Mulloon Institute east of Canberra, to learn more about natural sequence farming methods.
It will also give him opportunities to be mentored and connected with people who have been working successfully to integrate regenerative agriculture principles in their business.
The foundation honours the memory of young Queensland cattleman Lachlan Hughes, who died as the result of a tragic on-farm accident in October 2018, and aims to continue his dream of using regenerative agricultural practices for grazing lands.
Mr Groat's journey to learn more about regenerative agriculture began in 2012 when he first saw television advertisements saying fossil fuels, deforestation and cattle were the three biggest threats to the planet.
"This message didn't sit well with me and from my experience, I couldn't see how cattle could be bad but I didn't know how to express that.
"Since then I have been searching and learning how cattle and people can actually work together for the benefit of the environment and this scholarship was the perfect opportunity for me to learn more about regenerative agriculture to do this."
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Mr Groat has been looking at trying new things on his property, Lorraine, north of Roma with his wife Emma and their children.
Together they have been trialling practices on farm that they have researched and learned about but realise there is much more to learn.
"The opportunity provided by the Lachlan Hughes Scholarship will allow me to give back to the regenerative agriculture movement as well," Mr Groat said.
"My project will focus on implementing contours and leaky weirs to reduce run-off, soil erosion and keep ground cover.
"I have already started and hope with the additional support through the scholarship I can do this successfully and see how regenerative principles can be applied to conventional agricultural landscapes, better for the environment and better for business."
The Hughes family was planning a Natural Sequence Farming information day at Dulacca Downs in April, where Jack would present his project outline for the next 12 months, but this will be postponed to a later date.