Sophie's 2020 Scholarship was proudly supported by Nufarm Australia.
Here's what Sophie had to say;
"The Young Aggies scholarship allowed me to participate is 3 weeks’ worth of practical experience that allowed me to observe and learn from different Agronomists around the Moree district. The amount of information they relayed to me was an experience I will forever be grateful for and never forget!
Throughout the three weeks, I traveled to many different areas from Collerenabri to Narrabri, From Terry Hie Hie to Croppa Creek and everywhere in between! I saw so many different crops, even some I did not even know existed. The experience funded by Young Aggies has really made an impact on my life for the better and has inspired me to follow my dreams of working in the agricultural industry.
In my first week, I tagged along with Garry Onus at Nutrien Ag. I saw a lot of country. From 30 km’s East of Gurley to Collarenebri and many places in between, we weaved in and out of properties seeing many crops, including, wheat, barley, chickpeas, Faba beans and linseed. For me, Linseed was a new crop; I cannot recall ever seeing it before. It was very beautiful with its purple and white flowers spread over kilometres. Gary opened my eyes to viruses and diseases that can potentially create huge economic impacts on the agricultural industry and how we can control and prevent them from spreading and causing bigger issues.
In my second week, I went to B&W Rural where I went around with several different agronomists, exploring the ins and outs of different variety trials. Throughout the week, I helped set up pheromone traps for heliothis moths, looked at possible new varieties of wheat and barley trials and witnessed the beginning of a possible mice infestation in the crops around the district. We set baits up in several canola crops and I was taught how to pick mice damaged plants. Casey and I ventured out to Stahmann’s Pecan farm where I saw the many different stages and operations the farm goes through to for the season. I learnt about grafting and witnessed how they planted the trees in their new development. Overall, it was very interesting experience that really opened my eyes to the more diverse and different types of farms there are around Australia.
In my third and final week I joined the McGregor Gourlay team in Moree as well as spending a couple days here and there with the Croppa Creek branch. With the Moree branch we went to Narrabri for an herbicide trial field day to see how different crops react to different types of herbicides. On the way there and back we did some bug checking in several different crops. We looked for heliothis in chickpeas and army worm in wheat, this was a consistent practice that I helped with during the week as there seemed to be a lot, that were hanging around. At Croppa I was shown how frost damage and crop development changes with the topography of the land. In the low valleys the crops appeared to be healthy with large heads however having a closer look at the heads and embryos of the grain, showed many had been severely damaged by frost, teaching me that often crops can be quite deceiving. We also put out mouse papers to determine thresholds in wheat and canola.
The Young Aggies scholarship meant that It was possible for me to have the opportunity to experience agronomy firsthand. I learnt a lot in the weeks I spent around Moree, mainly about diseases, weeds and pests but also how to talk to growers and write recommendations. The different backgrounds and ages of the agronomists I spent time with, meant that I really got to see this world from so many different angles and perspectives showing me new and old ideas and practices. The Moree district is a huge area and that allowed me to see many different crops and areas that I had never been to or seen before. The place is huge! The knowledge and insight relayed to me about the landscapes and crop growth was also huge.The knowledge I’ve gained whilst spending time with these agronomists and meeting and talking to growers with real life problems, has really made me realise that a career in agronomy is what I want to do and Moree is the perfect place to begin a career and life in agriculture."