Owner of Diggers Rests’ Bulla Park organic mushroom farm, Georgie Beattie, was one of 20 Australian farmers to score a Farmers for Climate Action (FFCA) farming scholarship, valued at more than $3000.
She was chosen from more than 200 farmers, in a record number of applications received by FFCA.
“I believe Australian leaders have a responsibility to understand what is required to reach our climate goals and the exciting opportunities that will be a consequence of the positive shift,” she said.
FFCA outreach coordinator Ellen Litchfield said there had been huge interest from farmers interested in learning about building resilience and reducing their carbon footprints.
“Farmers are on the front lines of climate impacts, including drought, bushfires and recent floods. They are ready to act to protect their farms for the future and they are keen to learn more,” she said.
From November this year until March 2023, scholarship recipients will “gain the knowledge needed to succeed in a changing climate, to enable them to come leaders in climate-smart agriculture and “increasing the resilience of their farms”.
The training is set to be delivered by Nobel Prize winners and experts from the country’s leading universities, which will then culminate in a three-day trip to Canberra.
Here, the scholars will meet their peers, industry experts and politicians.
The farmers hail from each state and territory, with a diverse range of farming operations represented across sectors, including sheep, cattle, cropping and horticulture.
