Murray Valley students Julia Ash and Hugh Macague have won this year’s Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) / Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) scholarships.
The scholarships, available to students at Longerenong College, have a total value of over $5000 each, including a cash and membership component.
Both Ms Ash, originally from Moama, and Mr Macague, from Rochester, are studying advanced diplomas of agriculture at the Wimmera college.
Ms Ash has an interest in pastures and livestock nutrition, while Mr Macague wants to train as an agronomist before a potential return to the family farm which is primarily cropping focused.
Marshall Rodda, of the VFF, said the two had won the scholarships from a strong field of candidates.
“It’s good to see agriculture attracting such good young talent,” he said.
John Goldsmith, head of campus at Longerenong, said the scholarships were invaluable to the students.
“The financial component helps the students with their studies, but there’s also the access to both organisations, with memberships part of the scholarship package.”
Caroline Welsh, chairman of BCG, said the scholarships, which have been running for nearly a decade, were helping train the next generation of agricultural leaders.
“We are already seeing some of the recipients of the scholarships doing very well for themselves in their professional lives.”
