Rural Achievers
To enter or for more details about the 2011 Rural Achievers Award,
contact Sarah Strachan on 0438 461 366
Rural Achiever Awards 2010
Patrick Buckley
Patrick is 23 yrs old and lives in Theresa Park. He currently manages the family dairy operations comprising mostly of jersey cows. In the past, he has also been employed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries at the No. 9 Dairy, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute.
In 2006, Patrick won the NSW Jersey Youth Scholarship which involved travelling to North America and Canada. This boosted Patrick’s passion for breeding dairy cows and gave him the opportunity to work with some of the most prominent studs in North America. This year, Patrick continued his success by winning the NSW State Diary Cattle Judging Competition. He will be representing NSW at the National Finals held in Hobart this month.Breeding and showing quality cows is also a skill which Patrick succeeds at. His cow, “Brunchilli Extreme Rose” won the 5 yr old milk class and Honourable Mention Senior Champion at the 2009 International Dairy Week held in Victoria. This cow also won Champion Jersey and Supreme Champion Dairy Cow at the 2009 Camden Show.
Patrick’s future goals are to own Jersey cows in Canada and the USA, and exhibit at their premier shows. An ultimate goal would be to judge at the World Dairy Expo, USA and Royal Winter Fair, Canada.
2009 Camden Show Rural Achievers
Melissa Lauff
Melissa is 24 years old and currently lives in Orange. She is employed by Nufarm as a Sales Manager for the Central West, Hunter Valley and Sydney Basin where she is responsible for all pesticide requirements. Melissa grew up in the Camden district, attended Elderslie High School and her family still live in Camden. Melissa has a Degree in Agriculture from Sydney University with First Class Honours and an Agronomy Major. She has undertaken a TAFE course in Chemical Application Risk Management and is a certified Chickpea Agronomist. Melissa’s involvement in the Agricultural industry of NSW is coupled with her love of the rural life and her desire to improve the technical knowledge and understanding between her and her rural clients. She hopes to be able to assist in the greater awareness of rural issues and to help farmers make a decent living whilst combating problems such as reduced water allocations and increasing input costs. Melissa sees the Rural Achiever Awards as an opportunity to be able to communicate to the general public her passion for agriculture and to attract young, intelligent and pro-active people into the industry.
Sam Gordon
Sam is 22 years old and lives in Camden. He has been heavily involved in the Camden show including beef and dairy cattle showing as well as being a steward. Sam has worked with dairy cattle since he was 10 and became interested in breeding and genetics, creating his own stud. He studied at Emerald Agriculture College in Queensland and is now employed at The University of Sydney Farm teaching animal handling skills to vet students. Sam loves anything related to the handling of animals, and is a very hands on person, training horses and dogs and working in all aspects of agriculture. Sam believes that the future of rural Australia depends on education on the issue of sustainability. He believes that the production capabilities of the Sydney basin should be protected to ensure ongoing opportunities. As a Camden resident he sees the spread of Sydney as a challenge to the rural nature of the community and through the work of organisations such as the Show Societies, hopes to build community interaction to promote rural activity. The ongoing concern over water resources for local beef and dairy producers and fruit and vegetable growers needs concerted community support to be managed effectively and Sam hopes his role as a Rural Achiever will aid in this process.