Neil Jain Hurlstone Ag High School – We are Champions for Change

Cranebrook High School Student Amber O’Neill has won the Cream of the Crop Competition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show this year.

Tarryn Whitfield from Landcare Australia presents Amber with the Woolworths Award of Excellence for Best Video

The Cream of the Crop Competition is an Art4Agriculture initiative which invites students in NSW schools to create a PowerPoint or a video promoting the importance of agriculture to their peers to encourage a better understanding of agriculture as well as promote agricultural careers and rural life.

Amber prepared four entries for the competition this year but it was her video about agricultural careers “Are you the One?” that took out the overall prize.

Amber O’Neill Winner of 2011 Cream of the Crop Competition

Amber highlighted a chef, a scientist, a mechanic and a designer as careers linked to agriculture and interviewed eight of her teachers at Cranebrook High School to discover which subject is most strongly linked to agriculture’s sustainability.

“What the judges loved about Amber’s winning video, was her understanding of the diverse careers in Australian agriculture,” says Art4Agriculrue National Program Director Lynne Strong. “As an industry, we are keen to point out that not all jobs in agriculture involve mud and flies!”

Her four-minute video features 30 agricultural careers that derive from school subjects such as mathematics, geography, food science and industrial design. “Importantly too, Amber’s video pays tribute to the unsung heroes of Australian agriculture, the teachers who instil knowledge and passion in their students who become our sector’s next generation of leaders and innovators,” says Lynne.

When asked what inspired her to enter multiple entries, Amber, who is in Year 10 at Cranebrook High School “I love it, there are so many interesting topics.” This was Amber’s first attempt at making a video and while it took a while to master the program, she was excited by the result. Read Amber’s guest blog here

Fellow winner, Neil Jain of Hurlstone Agricultural High School agrees that you learn something new every time you enter. “Not just about the subject, but the technology,” says Neil whose video “Genetic Modification – Is it Safe?” won the Best Middle School category.

Neil Jain Winner of Middle School Section Cream of the Crop 2011

Neil’s entry explored the science of genetic modification as well as some of the issues surrounding the arguments for and against the science. “It’s an important topic for feeding the world”, said Neil. “Genetic modification may not always be 100% safe, but if it is a solution to the global food crisis, it should be a field to look into.”

Also of Hurlstone Agricultural High School is Jordan Kerr who won the best Senior School entry for his video “Feeding Sydney” which explores how much food Sydney needs and the sustainability of the city’s food supply.

Jordan Kerr Winner 2011 Senior Section Cream of the Crop Competition

Jordan filmed vox pops with commuters in Sydney asking how many tonnes of food they thought Sydney consumes every day then captures their reactions when they learn the figure is 5,500 tonnes; 1,000 times more than one guess.

Jordan’s video also features interviews with the Premier of NSW, Barry O’Farrell, Leader of the National Party Andrew Stoner and the NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson.

“This year the Cream of the Crop Competition finalists covered topics as diverse as keeping chickens, sustainable agriculture, the global food crisis and the sheep and cotton industries, which again, demonstrates the diversity of our sector,” says Lynne. “All finalist presentations are now on the Web for sharing with the world and with around 100,000 web hits since 2009, they are certainly making an impression,” says Lynne.

The event featured Stephanie Coombes, creator of Careers in Australian Agriculture website & proud Agvocate for Australia Agriculture as MC. See Steph’s blog on her day here

Isobel Moore winner of the Dubbo Speech Spectacular was guest speaker

Hear guest presenter Catherine Marriott RIRDC Rural Women’s Award WA talk about the Cream of the Crop on Show Radio and watch the finalists receive their awards here