Young Victorian wool grower Amy Jackson has encouraged other aspiring farmers to "start learning at a young age" after she was selected for a prestigious sheep and wool scholarship.
Ms Jackson, 20, was one of two women selected for Fox & Lillie's annual scholarship, aimed at providing Longerenong Agriculture College students with financial assistance towards their tuition fees.
From the age of 12, the Maroona wool grower has built her own sheep enterprise with the assistance of her parents, which has now grown to more than 60 1-year-old Merino ewes and two Border Leicester rams.
Coincidentally during her two-week placement with Fox & Lillie, who specialises in wool export and brokering, Ms Jackson was able to watch her hard work pay off after her own home-grown wool was sold at sale in Melbourne.
"Fox & Lillie actually bought my wool themselves and it sold for a really good price... so I was really pleased with that," Ms Jackson said.
She said the wool, which weighed 187 kilograms and sold for 1623 cents a kilogram, would likely be batched and sent to India due to its micron.
Fox & Lillie Merino trading manager Peter Maher said the placement gave students an insight from the early stages of the wool supply chain, to farm brokering, exporting and processing.
"Amy's wool came up in the catalogue while she was in the auction room and it suited the specs of an existing order, so it was the perfect timing," Mr Maher said.
Ms Jackson said she was chuffed with the $5000 scholarship, while the two-week placement which included a visit to the Australian Wool Testing Authority, gave her a detailed understanding of the industry and its challenges.
A second student, Amy Pilgrim, was also awarded a scholarship by the company.
Ms Jackson said her experience on her parents' farm, Irak, south of Ararat, had laid the foundations to understand breeding principles and the industry more generally, and encouraged other young farmers to "get involved" from a young age.
"If people like me have an opportunity to start working from a young age, then I'd suggest they go for it because it really gives you a strong understanding of the sector when you enter college or the industry itself," Ms Jackson said.