KINGAROY’S BIG PEANUT

The Kingaroy Peanut Committee and crew behind getting the sculpture in place celebrate as the peanut is finally home. 256674 Close-ups of the historically rich monument. 256677 Picture: JULIAN LEHNERT

Kingaroy gets Big Peanut

As the town of Kingaroy and surrounds were sound asleep, a team of philanthropic South Burnett businesses, workers from the South Burnett Regional Council, and members of the Big Peanut Committee met in the town’s Lions Park to install the long-awaited Big Peanut in the early hours of Thursday, 4 November.

Kingaroy has been waiting for over half a century for its Big Peanut - now, thanks to the ’Kingaroy Needs a Big Peanut’ Committee, the South Burnett Regional Council, community funding, a large line-up of industry sponsorship and in-kind support, the dream is now a reality.

The Big Peanut is a steel sculpture, manufactured out of items gathered from peanut farms across the South Burnett as well as items donated from the Committee’s major sponsors G Crumpton & Sons and Bega Cheese, creating a special connection to the peanut-farming community.

The Big Peanut will be lit up at night by two specially designed lighting poles, which have also been installed today.

According to the ‘Kingaroy Needs a Big Peanut’ Committee, the official unveiling plans for the landmark are due to be announced soon.

Those keen to keep up to date on news surrounding the Big Peanut are urged to visit the Big Peanut Facebook page on https://www. facebook.com/Kingaroyneedsabigpeanut. The long-awaited Big Peanut is now finally at its spot in Kingaroy’s Lions Park. 256677 Picture: JULIAN LEHNERT

The team started the process in the early hours of the morning. 256674 After years of fundraising, the Kingaroy Peanut committee were overjoyed to see the sculpture become a reality. 256674 Pictures: KINGAROY PEANUT COMMITTEE

AgriFuture on the Horizon

Applications for the 2022 AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship Program are now open. Students entering their final two years of an undergraduate degree who are passionate about the future of Australian rural industries are encouraged to apply.

The AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship is a collaboration between many of the Research and Development Corporations (RDC’s), along with Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia and FMC Australasia to provide eligible university students with a $10,000 bursary over two years and plenty of opportunities to develop their leadership skills and expand their networks. As part of the Program, students also attend an annual fourday professional development workshop and complete two weeks of industry work placements per year.

The Horizon Scholarship Program is open to students studying agriculture-related or STEM degrees with major studies and/or subject selections that align to agriculture.

AgriFutures Australia managing director, John Harvey says that collaboration across a broad range of disciplines will be crucial to the growth of our rural industries and is excited to see the Horizon Scholarship Program evolve to meet this need.

“Our cohorts are no longer made up solely of ag students from traditional farming backgrounds. We now have scholars studying engineering, law, business and animal science,” said Mr Harvey.

“We have scholars who have never set foot on a farm in the same room as fifth-generation farmers, and this diversity in backgrounds and thinking is beginning to elevate the conversations beyond anything we’ve seen before.”

This was the experience for former Horizon Scholar and current Fullbright Scholar, Ali Gill.

“The Horizon Scholarship was pivotal in igniting my passion for plant science and agriculture. Unlike many of the other scholars, I did not grow up on a farm, nor do I have relatives in agricultural careers. I had big ambitions to be a leader, but did not have much of an understanding of agriculture at the time.

“The yearly Horizon Scholarship Workshop were not only an unparalleled opportunity for networking, but also exponentially increased my agricultural knowledge base,” said Ms Gill. The diverse range of industry sponsors involved in the Horizons Scholarship program represents the desire to build prosperous and sustainable rural industries. To do this, there is a need to build the skills, capacity, leadership and knowledge of the future rural leaders of Australian agriculture.

“Creating a platform for students to collaborate across traditional and emerging areas of agriculture will create a platform of networking, idea creation and forward thinking that is invaluable to the rural industries of the future and I thank all of the industry sponsors who recognise the value and importance of the investment into future leaders.

“Australian Eggs, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA), Dairy Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), Hort Innovation, FMC Australasia and the AgriFutures Thoroughbred Horses, Rice and Emerging Industries Programs are all sponsors of the Horizon Scholarship program, and our scholars have seen first-hand the benefits associated with having such valuable industry connections,” Mr Harvey said.

To be eligible to apply students must:

·Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident · Be studying an undergraduate degree at an

Australian university · Be entering the final two years of their degree in 2022.

Scholarship recipients will be selected on the basis of their commitment to a career in agriculture, as well as their leadership potential and tertiary academic record to date.

Applications close Friday, 14 January 2022 at midnight AEDT. Shortlisted applicants must be available for a telephone interview in February 2022, and scholarship winners will be announced in April 2022.

For more information and to apply visit agrifutures.com.au/horizon

Those with a passion for the future of Australian rural industries are encouraged to apply to the AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship Program. Students entering their final two years of an undergraduate degree are eligible.

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