A young farmer from Bridgeward Grove Olives and Art Farm Gate in Goornong has been awarded a scholarship by the Victorian government.
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Amelia Byrne will use the scholarship to help expand her knowledge at an olive oil sommelier course to be held in Spain.
Ms Byrne’s goal is to become a sommelier, a role that involves pairing food with olives and olive oil.
“There are only three olive oil sommeliers in Australia which we are aware of and we don’t believe there are any in Victoria,” Ms Byrne said.
“This grant takes my training in the olive industry to another level and shows the support the Victorian government offers to agriculture, especially young farmers, and our future in the industry.”
Other recipients of the scholarship were involved in agricultural areas such as cropping, livestock, fruit, vegetables and dairy.
Ms Byrne was awarded the Young Farmers Scholarship 2018 by the Victorian Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford at an award ceremony held in Melbourne last week.
Each of the 12 recipients of the scholarship will receive $10,000 to enhance their training and study within agriculture.
“It was invigorating to meet other young farmers across Victoria. I feel like I’ve also made valuable contacts and new friends,” Ms Byrne said.
“The purpose of the scholarship program is to upskill and invest.”
Ms Byrne has worked on the farm for the past three years with a broad role encompassing farm management, event management, social media management and many other tasks.
Bridgeward Grove Olives and Farm Gate owner Julie Howard said the scholarship was important to upskill young people who were passionate and devoted to the agriculture industry.
“We have these young people who are genuinely interested in the agricultural industry and they need to be looked after, because we want them to stay in the industry,” Mrs Howard said.
According to Agriculture Victoria 13 per cent of Victorian farmers are under the age of 35.
“The olive industry is still very young in Australia, filled with great people and conferences,” Mrs Howard said.
“But not all of the components are there for the intense learning, so we looked into it and found a course in Valencia, Spain.
“We looked into the learning components and it looks fantastic.”
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