2014 Young Scholar: Kirsty McCormack

Kirsty McCormack

University of New England
Sponsored by the NSW Committee

Kirsty McCormack describes herself as a cowgirl in love with a cotton crop. She is 3rd year Rural Science student at the University of New England. She has a passion for cotton, beef, wool, sheep, dairy and every industry that she can attribute to feeding and clothing Australia. Her aim is to help re-brand, re-educate and re-invent the words genetic modification, by challenging consumer’s perception and myths, from a cloud of mystery to the food on everyone’s plate. She is interested in helping farmers grow more crop-per-drop, to help feed the future. She believes that we need to be educated about the challenges faced by agriculture and the economy in Australia. This conference gives Kirsty the opportunity to network and work with like-minded young people about what she is passionate about – feeding the world.

Conference report

…to be able to access influential members of our global agricultural community, have their knowledge and experiences told first hand and hear them speak was simply brilliant. The Parliamentary Conference really opened my eyes and broadened my thought process.”

The Crawford Fund conference was a great experience, to be able to access influential members of our global agricultural community, have their knowledge and experiences told first hand and hear them speak was simply brilliant.

The Parliamentary Conference really opened my eyes and broadened my thought process. Before attending the conference I simply thought that increasing production was the only hurdle that agriculture had to battle. After listening, engaging and observing I now have a deeper understanding and empathy of what it is going to take to really start to ‘feed the future’. It was alarming to learn about the impact of food wastage and obesity, and in converse the post harvest losses in developing countries. Hearing the aims to empower women really encouraged me to look further than my own front door and think internationally. And that to make a change we need to make a difference. That food security is linked with poverty and socioeconomic have a large role to play. Allowing young women to take control of their own bodies is a basic need that needs to be addressed but an issue that to me was never before considered.

It is safe to say that after leaving parliament I was an empowered, educated and passionate young women. More so than when I entered. The knowledge that I have gained has allowed me to give my future studies more direction and purpose and a goal to aim towards than just an increase in production.

The scholar’s day was equally as impressive and left another large impact. Through interacting with other young passionate people I was quite impressed with the opportunities they have taken up how they had studied overseas. I was aiming towards international honours but was deterred from the negative feedback I was receiving from my own university. However after so many encouraging conversations, offers to aid with contacts and projects I am now reinvigorated and driven to follow my desire to travel overseas and explore other agricultural practices.

I would like to thank the Crawford fund as a whole for taking on the initiative to include young scholars and incorporate an interactive day for us to participate. It was a well run, planned and undertaken event that has definitely left its mark on me.

I hope I can follow in some very big footsteps and be further involved in this field.