All eyes will be on the 2019 Australian Summer Grains Conference to be held on the Gold Coast from July 8 to 10, where two of our YFC stars will shine. Agronomist and co-owner of Summit Ag Emma Ayliffe will lead the Student Forum program while agronomist Casey Onus has been nominated for the Zoe McInnes Memorial Award.

As well as co-owning her own consultancy business Emma owns a farm with her partner, is Acting Chair of the Youth Voices Leadership team and was runner up in 2018 ADAMA Young Agronomist of the Year. With this depth of experience behind her at such a young age she was a natural choice to speak at the conference and on Monday (July 8) will share her personal journey in agriculture.

“A lot of university students attend the conference and I think it is important for young people to see other young people having a real crack in the world and that you don’t have to be 35-40 years old to be achieving great things,” Emma says. “I think it is also important that people coming into a career in ag hear a whole story, not just the successes and smiles, but the warts, the hard work and the literal tears that goes into being successful; not to scare them off but to ensure that they have realistic expectations of what they are getting themselves into and to see that it is okay to not fit the mould or stereotype that is portrayed.”

You can see a sneak peak of some of Emma’s life journey and her presenting style here

The conclusion of the Summer Grains Conference will be a gala dinner on July 10 where the prestigious Zoe McInnes Memorial Award will be presented to one of the country’s finest agronomists. Of the four finalists, three are senior agronomists with years of experience in the grains industry. The fourth is our very own Casey Onus.

“Zoe was the kind of person we should all aspire to be as young agronomists, so it’s a huge honour to be nominated for her award,” Casey says. “I think often as young agronomists we don’t feel as though we have been around long enough to make an impact in our clients’ business and the greater agricultural industry. So to receive recognition through being nominated for an award like this is great feedback that perhaps we are on the right track and delivering real value.”

The award recognises the outstanding contribution to agronomic excellence and the winner receives a $5,000 bursary to allow them to expand their knowledge and assist in delivery of new information to growers.

“Casey was nominated for her commitment and enthusiasm for the agricultural industries,” Emma says, and this is a view shared by her employer Peter Birch of B&W Rural, Moree.

“She is a fantastic and vibrant young lady who is very, very good at IT and precision farming and all that entails,” Peter says. “She thrives on agronomy, does a great job, is very down to earth and gets on well with the farmers.”

Awesome stuff Emma and Casey – we are mega proud of everything you do

Breaking news Casey Onus wins Agronomist of the Year

mega kudos Casey #YouthinAg #YouthVoices