TWO South East leaders in agriculture have been named as finalists for national awards.
Onions Australia chief executive Lechelle Earl has been shortlisted for the Women in Horticulture Award, to be announced at Australia’s largest horticultural conference in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the South East’s Ben Dowling is nominated in the grower of the year category.
Mr Dowling is a director of Dowling Agritech, situated just south of Tarpeena, which supplies seed potato markets in South East Asia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, with its product used by commercial farmers to grow crops for the crisping, French fry and fresh market sectors.
The awards will be presented at a gala dinner as part of the 2018 national awards for excellence at Hort Connections.
More than 2500 delegates are expected to attend the event.
Ms Earl, who has been at the helm of Onions Australia for almost six years, is one of only two South Australian women named among the 10 finalists.
She said she was humbled to be nominated for the award, let alone announced as a finalist.
“I was exceptionally surprised to learn that I had been nominated and absolutely blown away when the names of finalists were revealed,” she said.
“I pride myself on working hard in the background to ensure that Australian onion growers are well represented on the national horticulture scene.
“I have what I consider to be the best job in the world, working with farmers and liaising with every aspect of horticulture, from researchers through to government, there is never a dull moment.
“I love that I can do this from my home town of Mount Gambier.”
Ms Earl will be busy during the Hort Connections event, leading tours to key onion growing regions in Queensland and hosting one of South Africa’s largest vegetable growers as part of the conference.
“This is the third year that Onions Australia has been a co-host of Hort Connections and it is a great event for Aussie horticulture,” she said.
“It’s amazing to bring so many growers together and promote our Australian produce, particularly to those people attending from overseas.”
A joint initiative between AUSVEG and the Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand, Hort Connections 2018 is the premiere event for the horticulture industry, encompassing the vegetable, fruit, cut floral and nursery sectors.
The three-day conference, which starts on Monday, caters to all members of the horticulture industry, from primary producers to retailers and the entire supply chain.
It is an opportunity for growers and industry members to come together in one central location to build their knowledge and networks and find new ways to improve the productivity and profitability of their farms and secure the future of the industry.
