2011 New South Wales Runner-up – Sally Martin

Knowledge broker

Sally Martin from Young, New South Wales, has been the Sheep and Wool Officer with Industry and Investment NSW in Young, NSW for the past 12 years. 

She grew up on a grazing property on the Monaro where she continues to be involved in the family farm operations.

Sally provides advice and support to individual sheep producers, grower groups and trial sites on genetics, animal health, reproduction and general production issues. She has played an integral role in the Peter Westblade Memorial Merino Challenge, the largest evaluation of commercial merino genetics in the world, which includes some of Australia’s largest commercial woolgrowers.

She is concerned at the the declining sheep population—the result of a significant change in the flock structure.  She believes the shift away from wool to a meat focus and from the merino sheep is fed by misconceptions that merino sheep are not capable of competing against other breeds for traits such as fertility and meat quality, despite current research and commercial trails demonstrating the contrary.

Her ambition is to ensure that existing genetic information is made more accessible and relevant to businesses to ensure a more profitable and resilient sheep industry.

2011 Victorian Runner-up – Jennifer Savage

Fish farming pioneer

Jennifer Savage from St. Germains, Victoria, is a pioneer of fish farming in Australia. In 2004 she established the first aquaculture business specialising in barramundi production, Savage Fish Pty Ltd in central north Victoria.

Jennifer is well qualified with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Fisheries and a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate and Masters in Aquaculture. She worked at the Department of Primary Industries – Snobs Creek, as a research technician working across a variety of native fish species for a number of years before setting up her own business.

Savage Fish aims to provide premium quality barramundi and murray cod, to be an Australian leader in the breeding and rearing of native finfish, and to supply environmentally sustainable fish to meet the growing demand for clean fresh food.

Jennifer has authored numerous papers and delivered many lectures on fish farming, and has supported a number of new aquaculture ventures, both within Australia and overseas, including a model to support a network of dairy farmers diversifying into aquaculture.  She is personally committed to supporting the re-establishment of the Victorian Aquaculture Council as an effective and united voice for industry to government.

Jennifer believes that fish farming offers a lucrative second income stream for farmers and a real solution to the increasing shortage of supply of wild catch.

She plans to set up a training program for aquaculture specific to Australian native species to be delivered in regional Victoria.

Jennifer believes the Australian industry needs an effective brand to compete against imports and to counter negative perceptions of farmed fish, and hopes to work with the beef and lamb industry to learn from their highly successful media campaigns.

2011 Queensland Runner-up – Erin Corish

Lamb industry innovator

Erin Corish from Goondiwindi, Queensland, is General Manager of a 15,000 head prime lamb feedlot outside Goondiwindi and co-owner of a rural publication called ‘Border Living Magazine’

She is heavily involved in her local industry and community and is a member of Young Farmers Forum, Women’s Industry Network – Cotton and Border Women in Business.

Erin is committed to the lamb industry and to finding solutions to the shortage of supply of prime lambs through better genetics and improved management practices that will help build and retain breeding numbers.

Her ambition is to investigate intensive breeding programs in an effort to increase production and minimise over-grazing. She plans to travel to South Africa to investigate the ‘Afrino’ sheep breed –  a breed of meat merino – and to test the breed’s performance against Australian conditions by introducing it into her own prime lamb herd.

Erin recently launched a social media site for her rural community, as an extension of the Boarder Living Magazine, to keep her community connected and to promote to the broader audience the diversity of rural businesses and the positive benefits of rural life.