A couple of amazing days

I’ve had a couple of amazing days this past week – the rare sort of days that refuel the batteries; and that remind me just why I do this job.

Once again, I was privileged to be part of a panel interviewing Tasmanian applicants for Nuffield scholarships.

The Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarships program awards primary producers with a life-changing scholarship to travel overseas and study an agricultural topic of choice.

Scholarship applicants are potential future leaders in the industry – they are passionate about farming or fishing and committed to building their futures in the industry they love.

There are approximately 300 Nuffield scholars in Australia, including a strong field of Tasmanians. These are people who strive for excellence and innovation in agriculture and are at the forefront in their fields.

Nuffield Australia is also part of a unique global network of 1,250 Nuffield Scholars from seven countries which also award Nuffield Farming Scholarships annually. The Nuffield alumni network is a unique world-wide forum for exchange of knowledge and development of life-long friendships. You can read more about the Nuffield Australia program here.

Nuffield has been awarding scholarships for over 60 years. Scholars are selected annually on merit. The field of Tasmanian applicants for the 2014 scholarships was an amazing one.

Their topics ranged across a broad spectrum of agricultural issues; and their presentations were – without exception – inspiring. Selecting just a few to go forward to the national panels was – again – challenging. I’m keen to find sponsors to support more scholarships so we can see more farmers achieve their business dreams.

Last weekend, I went to the launch of the first stage of a greenfield $30 million dairy development at Waterhouse in the north-east. Agrilac is converting a traditional grazing property into a three-stage dairy development that could carry as many as 8500 cows when completed. In this first stage, the venture will milk around 700 cows. This will inject as much as $20 million a year in farm gate milk earnings into the local economy, and employ many local people.

The consortium partners include some well known local farmers who have seen an opportunity and grasped it enthusiastically. They have pooled their skills and resources to deliver this venture quietly, without fuss and without looking for any assistance from government.

They opened the gates of the almost-complete new dairy to contractors, workers, other farmers and the local community to thank them for their support and effort in getting the project off the ground. It was an inspiring example of low-key farmers sharing their enthusiasm and recognising team efforts in an economically challenged rural community.

Why am I telling you about these people?

Because I want to share these stories of these inspiring Tasmanian farmers who epitomise the best aspects of home-grown resilience and can-do achievement. And they’re not alone – there are so many more out there doing what farmers do best: quietly getting on with their jobs, while changing the face of agriculture.

We often hear the government and various ‘experts’ telling us we need to attract investors to the state to kick-start the stalled Tasmanian economy. Yet there is rarely any acknowledgement of our home-grown investors.

Our farmers are already here; they’re committed to their families, their farms and their communities; and they continually show their willingness to invest – both financially and emotionally.

We need more optimism and less pessimism in this place; and we need to get behind those who can make a difference if we’re going to get Tasmania moving.

All Tasmanians need to support these quiet achievers.

We need to recognise and celebrate the contribution they make – not just to agriculture, but to rural communities and the overall well-being of everyone who lives in this state. We need to show them some encouragement, instead of taking them for granted and constantly criticising them. And, importantly, we need to stop making what is already a tough job even more difficult.
Jan Davis’ Tasmanian Country column today