Ms Hanna is a former John Hanrahan Scholar and recently completed a Bachelor of Agriculture at the University of Melbourne.
Riverine Plains chief executive officer Catherine Marriott said Ms Hanna’s appointment was especially significant as it made a full circle of her journey from John Hanrahan Scholar to full-time employee.
“Since receiving the John Hanrahan Scholarship in 2019, Sophie has spent many work experience hours with Riverine Plains and has really gained an appreciation of the type of research and extension work we do, as well as the challenges facing local farmers,” Ms Marriott said.
“We’re absolutely thrilled that the scholarship was able to play a role in Sophie’s return to the region — this highlights how these opportunities can benefit both young people in their early career and the farming community more widely.”
The John Hanrahan Scholarship was established to support and encourage local agriculture students.
Ms Hanna said the scholarship was a game-changer.
“The opportunities to gain work experience with the Riverine Plains team, attend field days and webinars, and extend my connections through the scholarship were invaluable and have been excellent platforms for kicking-starting my career post-university,” she said.
Ms Marriott said Riverine Plains had been increasing its focus on livestock production systems and Ms Hanna’s role would advance this further.
“Sophie’s experiences growing up and working on a beef cattle grazing farm in the Upper Murray means that she understands the industry and this makes her really well-placed to help us deliver projects that can improve our members’ livestock operations,” she said.
Ms Hanna said she was particularly interested in livestock production, soil science and genetics and was keen to employ these interests to help farmers advance their production systems.
“Through our projects, we are aiming to deliver information which directly addresses our member requests and the challenges faced by livestock producers,” she said.
“I’m really excited to work with farmers to learn more about their needs and then provide the information and resources that can help drive their productivity and enhance efficiency.”
Ms Hanna is based at the group’s Mulwala office and can be contacted on (03) 5744 1713 or by emailing sophie@riverineplains.org.au
Applications for the 2023 John Hanrahan Scholarship open March 15. For more information, visit: www.riverineplains.org.au
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