Sam Adams will represent the wool industry as a participant in the Young Farming Champions program run by Art4Agriculture.
Young Armidale producer Sam Adams is stepping forward to represent the wool industry after he was recently selected as a Young Farming Champion.
The Young Farming Champions program is run by the Art4Agriculture network and trains farmers aged 18-30 to talk at city schools about their experiences of farming.
Mr Adams was involved with the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE) program during high school and is also a recipient of a Horizon scholarship for agricultural undergraduate study.
It was through contacts he made through the Horizon scholarship program
that Mr Adams found out about the Young Farming Champions program.
Mr Adams said he was looking forward to the opportunity to provide city students with an insight into agriculture.
“As a farmer consumer awareness plays an important role to our lives, letting people know where their food and fibre come from,” he said.
“It’s a privilege to have the chance to put that message out.”
Mr Adams said he was pleased to be involved with programs that helped young farmers to put forward their opinions and ideas.
“The general age of farmers tends to be about 60 so it’s potentially a bit difficult for the younger generation to put our voice out there,” he said.
Mr Adams spent three days in Canberra last week as part of the Horizon scholarship program and said he enjoyed the opportunities it provided him.
“The most exciting bit was probably being guests on the NSW Country Hour program, it felt like we were really getting our voice out there,” he said.
Mr Adams’ family property is ‘Swallowfield’, 17km from Armidale on the Rockvale Road where his family runs sheep and cattle.
He graduated from The Armidale School in 2009 and now attends The University of Queensland at Gatton and is in the process of transferring degrees from Agricultural Science to Plant Science.
Mr Adams will attend the Young Farming Champions workshops at the Brisbane Ekka in August, where he will receive media training and learn more about public speaking.
Art4Agriculture’s national program director Lynne Strong said the program tried to select the up and coming rising stars of agriculture and hone their skills in talking to a consumer audience.
“What we’re looking for is these young people who can take down stereotypes and debunk the myths about farming,” she said.