Presentations were made at the Greendale Merinos, Cooma ram sale for the 2016 Cecil Brown Scholarship by Mark McGufficke, Greendale Merinos, and Sam Green, Elders, Cooma, manager.
Mr McGufficke noted this is the 21st year of the scholarship having started in 1996, when it was established in honour of Cecil Brown, a passionate Merino man who worked for many years at Hazeldean.
“He had a great knowledge of sheep breeding and was always willing to pass that onto the next generation,” he said.
Mr Green said the scholarship is open to young Monaro-based persons with an interest and passion for agriculture.
“The scholarship has two parts the first part is an agricultural exchange to the South Island of New Zealand based around the Central Otago, Alexandra, Queenstown and Omarama districts,” he said.
“Every year a person is selected from the Monaro for exchange and this is reciprocated with a person from New Zealand spending two to three weeks on Monaro-district properties.
“The other part of the scholarship provides educational funding for young Monaro people pursing further studies in agriculture.”
The 2016 New Zealand Exchange was awarded to Bea Litchfield, whi is the livestock manager at “Hazeldean”, Cooma.
Ms Litchfield will have the opportunity to spend two to three weeks visiting and working on Merino Stations on the South Island of New Zealand.
“She will see firsthand what a challenging environment it is and the management practices used,” Mr McGufficke said..
The Education Scholarship for 2016 was awarded to Louise Fletcher.
Ms Fletcher, currently studying a Bachelor of Animal Science Degree at Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, will recieve financial assistance to assist with her studies.
Speaking after the presentations, Mr Green pointed out the interview panel was very impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of this years candidates.