BENALLA local Ellen Versteegen has taken out the 2015 National Student Award title at the Ag Institute Australia (AIA) National Conference in Brisbane.
The prestigious AEV Richardson Memorial National Student Award is competed for annually by undergraduate students who have completed an Honours research project as part of an agricultural science (or related) degree.
Ms Versteegen, Benalla, presented the findings of her La Trobe University honours project to delegates at the AIA conference, before being announced the winner by the selection committee.
"The lactational and reproductive performance of the dairy cow is critical to the future of the Australian dairy industry," she said.
Previous research has focused on the nutritional quality of colostrum, however she said little was known about colostral metabolic details, which may provide insight into reduced reproductive and lactational performance.
"My project concluded that the colostrum of dairy cows does indeed contains markers of fertility and milk yield," she said.
Each AIA state division selects a finalist to compete nationally with a written submission on the background of their project and a 15-minute presentation on the outcomes to a selection panel.
It was a tight contest, with Belinda Worland, Qld, finishing runner-up and Tori Percival, Tas, in third, while Emily Buddle, SA, took out the People's Choice award.
Ian Macleod from National Student Award sponsor Peracto, said the finalists were all of a very high quality.
"The judges had a very hard decision to make, which is a strong indication that the future of our industry is in very good hands," he said.
The awards were part of last weeks AIA National Conference, which explored how agriculture will look in 2040, with a particular focus on creating a profitable yet sustainable industry.