Agricultural
19 September, 2023
Local Nuffield Scholar seeks a fair energy transition for farmers and regional communities
Sally Higgins (daughter of Sue and Phil Higgins) has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship for 2024, supported by Agrifutures.
The Nuffield Scholarship is a prestigious international scholarship awarded to emerging leaders in agriculture.
Each scholar receives a $35,000 bursary to invest in travel and research. They visit, learn from, and collaborate with some of the world’s leading agricultural businesses and research institutions.
The research is driven by farmers, in collaboration with their respective industries – a proven recipe for success, which helps scholars learn and their industries prosper.
From now until December 2024, Sally will travel across the world, exploring the most effective government, industry and farm business models for prioritizing land uses that meet multiple objectives. Sally will explore how Australian agriculture can best plan and prepare for the large-scale land use changes resulting from climate change and the transition to net zero.
“The transition to net zero emissions is a live debate in Australia,” Sally says.
“I am passionate about making sure that farmers and regional communities like Allora fairly benefit from the development that will occur.
We need to make sure that we deeply consider the important role land plays in food production as well as the need to implement land-based climate solutions.”
For Sally, this topic hits close to home, with the construction of several renewable energy projects across the Southern Downs region.
“Allora has historically been a farming region but increasingly, our farms are becoming dynamic systems of multipurpose landscapes where traditional farming commodities co-exist with carbon farming, biodiversity, agritourism, and renewable energy”.
Taking over her grandparent’s cattle and cropping farm two years ago has been a period of “rapid learning” for Sally and her partner Gus Somes.
“The farming community of Allora is a big part of what gets me excited for my future career in agriculture. There are so many incredibly smart, innovative and resilient farmers in our own community. I look forward to continuing to learn from them along this journey.”
Supporter Information: AgriFutures Australia invests in research, leadership, innovation and learning to support industries that do not have their own research and development function, new and emerging industries, and the issues that affect the whole of agriculture.
