Half of this year's prestigious Nuffield Scholarships winners are from Queensland with the bright young brains choosing to study topics as diverse as carbon sequestration, to drones and finger limes.
Announced at the annual Nuffield Conference, being held virtually today, the 12 scholarship recipients will travel in Australia and overseas to research innovative concepts, techniques and systems that will make a positive impact on their businesses and the broader agricultural industry.
Each 2022 Nuffield Scholar receives a $30,000 bursary to spend on travel in the next few years.
Nuffield Australia CEO and 2013 Scholar, Jodie Redcliffe, said the program would give the producers and agribusiness professionals global perspectives that would help them learn, remain competitive and grow.
"We love the passion and ideas our new 2022 Scholars showed in their applications," she said.
"Among the cohort, there's a strong focus on finding and sharing innovations that can make Australian agriculture and its associated value chains more resilient to changes in the environment, regulations, markets and consumer expectations.
"For example, two of the scholars will research opportunities for farmers and graziers to store and capture carbon, and be fairly recognised for their contribution to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions."
She said COVID-19 has hammered home that adaptability and leadership is crucial for all business.
"We are looking forward to working with this group who are driven to help their business and industry thrive now and into the future, as we navigate a world recovering from the pandemic."
She said Nuffield Australia is looking forward to borders reopening to allow the Scholars to conduct valuable research that they will share with industry.
The 2022 Nuffield Scholars from Queensland are:
- Jasmine Boxsell from Biarra. Supported by Meat and Livestock Australia, Jasmine will assess carbon reduction and sequestration in Australian's northern pastoral industry.
- Jesse Moody from Cunnamulla. Supported by Rabobank, Jesse will investigate how to develop more resilient, drought-tolerant soils and pastures.
- Luke Chaplain from Cloncurry. Supported by PSP Investments, Luke will explore commercial models for drone mustering and other ag-tech opportunities.
- Jade King from Peachester. Supported by AgriFutures Australia, Jade will research agronomic practices to produce consistently high quality finger limes, to help expand the fruit's market.
- Jo Kelly from Bribie Island. Supported by AgriFutures Australia, Jo aims to accelerate the development of the emerging seaweed industry in Australia.
- Omid Ansari from Virginia. Supported by the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation, Omid will investigate how improved agronomy practices and purpose-built machinery and technologies can help Australian hemp growers.
Read more in this week's paper.