Sophie Balkin
2024 | Agriculture - Livestock Management
“I am extremely passionate about agriculture and expanding my knowledge about the industry. There are so many diverse aspects of farming that it is always exciting and new.”
Sophie’s scholarship relates to these UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs):
I hope to use my Global Footprints Scholarship to explore diverse agriculture practices and experiments around the world. Experiencing first hand the diversity of agriculture practices in other countries will broaden my understanding of sustainable farming methods. I hope to not only implement these learnings into my own farming strategies but also share that knowledge to better educate others and ensure eco friendly farming to ensure sustainability.
A Global Footprints Scholarship is your opportunity to do more of what you love. What have you done at work that you are proud of or passionate about?
I am extremely passionate about agriculture and expanding my knowledge about the industry. There are so many diverse aspects of farming that it is always exciting and new.
I have grown up working on my familes sheep station in Moulamein NSW where I developed from a young age a passion for livestock. I have ever since immerced myself into the industry. During high school I did a work placement one day a week for the entire year, the first half of the workplacement consisted of working side by side a sun rice agronomist around Moulamein and Deniliquin. The second half of the work placement was with Northen Wool in Swan Hill, Victoria. After thoroughly enjoying working in real life industry I decided to start Longerenong College in 2022 where I since have taken part in two work placements. My first work placement was on 500,000 acre sheep property called Yarrawin where I spent two months participating in their musters and lamb marking. My second work placement was on a sheep station in South Australia. I spend just over three months mustering on motorbikes, bore runs, fixing windmills, machinery maintenance, inventory of supplies, store runs and preparation for sheep sales. During the holidays I spend my time either working on our family sheep station or working in the wool sheds as a roustabout and wool classer.
A Global Footprints Scholarship is for you if you are passionate about creating a sustainable future. Describe something you have done at work or are working on, that helps the environment. Why is it important to you?
My family owns and runs a sheep station called Jawbone in Moulamein NSW, where we have become extremely conscious about becoming more sustainable and looking into ways we can alter and better our practices.
One way we are achieving sustainability on Jawbone is looking at the pump jacks and mono which are used to pump and move water through pipelines of our property and replacing them with solar powered pumps. This minimises our use of fossil fuels, carbon emissions, electricity and environmental impact. The solar pumps are cost effective in the long run as they harness energy from the sun, which is free, renewable and abundant.
As a BBM Scholar you can choose to go anywhere in the world. Where will you travel with your Scholarship and why?
I would love to travel to the US or Europe to experience diverse cultural practices related to agriculture and sustainable farming. I believe these countries will provide me with different and innovative techniques and knowledge that will be extremely useful for my career pursuing agriculture. The US is known for their innovative development of machinery and technology which is brought over to Australia for farming so I believe it would be very interesting to learn about the the new technology for the coming years and better gauge where agriculture is headed both in terms of production and sustainability.
“Sophie is clearly passionate about her industry and actively seeking networking and hands-on learning opportunities. […] Her drive and passion for agriculture make her a good fit for the Global Footprints program. […] This scholarship will be a great opportunity for her to develop her interest in innovation across sustainability and technology”
– Global Footprints Assessor Panel