Spirit of Excellence in Agriculture Awards

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the recent Ag Bureau Spirit of Excellence in Agriculture Awards and how they acknowledge the contribution of young people in agriculture?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:47): I thank the honourable member for his question, particularly as it is so important to encourage young people to be involved in the agricultural sector. I was fortunate to attend the Ag Bureau of South Australia's Spirit of Excellence in Agriculture Awards in Gawler last Friday night with the member for Light, the Hon. Tony Piccolo MP. Also present was the honourable Leader of the Opposition.

The awards have a strong emphasis on the achievements of young farmers and producers who are making a real difference to sustainable farming practices and furthering their skills and knowledge so they can work with others to create a thriving agricultural sector in South Australia. Earlier in the day, prior to the awards ceremony, I visited the Gawler and District College agricultural facilities with the member for Light. While I was talking to students and their teacher, Ms Trimboli, I was very impressed with their passion for agriculture and their excitement in showing both myself and the member for Light what it is they have been working on in their agricultural program.

Given the strong focus on the contribution of young people at the Spirit of Excellence Awards, I was pleased to invite three of the students, Louise, Jasmin and Kaitlyn, as well as Ms Trimboli, to the awards event so that they could experience the excitement of the evening and talk to other young people in the industry. I was heartened to actually see the way that those who were at the event made an effort and went out of their way to go to speak to the three young students and Ms Trimboli to encourage them to keep pursuing agriculture through school and as a career.

In terms of the awards, there were two scholarships and one bursary announced on the night, with the winners, Ben Castine, Nicholas Dawes and Aleah Bakota, managing to overcome extremely strong fields of candidates who ensured, I think, that the judges did not have an easy time in making a decision.

The winner of the 2022 Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship, sponsored by the Department for Environment and Water, was Ben Castine. Ben and his wife manage a fourth-generation vineyard, grazing and cropping property near Watervale in the Clare Valley. Ben has conducted extensive research into sustainable approaches to vineyard production and is now focusing on an under-vine straw mulching program and planting of native insectary plants around the vineyard with the aim of reducing insecticide and herbicide use and enhancing soil health and water-holding capacity. Unfortunately, Ben was not able to be there on the night but the acceptance speech read on his behalf really outlined how his positive approach is making a difference not only to his own business but potentially more broadly to other businesses in the future.

The winner of the 2022 Rural Youth Bursary, which I was very fortunate to be able to announce on the night, was won by Nicholas Dawes from Kingston South East. Nicholas works as an animal health specialist. He would like to further his knowledge of animal husbandry at a farmer/producer level so that he can increase his value to producers as an animal health specialist and help to educate on implementing best practice nutrition and animal management strategies.

Finally, Aleah Bakota was announced as the recipient of the 2022 Lois Harris Scholarship, which is awarded to a first-year student studying the Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Aleah received the highest tertiary entrance score for a student studying this course in 2022 and is passionate about farming sustainability and working to minimise the impacts of climate change.

It was an inspiring night and it showed just how brightly the future shines in our state with the young people who study and work across agriculture. I congratulate the finalists, the winners and the board of Ag Bureau of SA, who put on a wonderful event.