Bordertown local, Lachy Johnson, has been named South Australia’s Young Rural Ambassador.
3/8/2017Lachy Johnson, a 19-year-old apprentice mechanic from Bordertown, has been named South Australia’s Young Rural Ambassador for 2017.
Lachy Johnson, a Bordertown resident, has received the title of South Australia’s Young Rural Ambassador. The 19-year old apprentice mechanic from Bordertown, has received this year’s title and was distinguished among other finalistsHe has been granted the title after his representation of the Mundulla Agricultural, Horticultural, and Floricultural Society as well as the South East and Border Show. The title was awarded to him in a modest ceremony last Friday night by the Agricultural Societies Council of South Australia.
Lachy started an Agricultural Mechanical Apprenticeship at Wise Farm Equipment where he currently works, together with his job at the local hardware shop and his lawn mowing round.
Outside of his professional life, Lachy’s likes to gather and renovate old vehicles like trucks, cars, and tractors. He is also a volunteer at Clayton Farm.
His participation at the Mundulla Show included the role of exhibitor from a young age, planning and developing, as well as cleaning, the trade spaces of the show.
He expressed his excitement and anticipation to the new experiences coming his way after being granted the award, and look forward to connecting with peers and improving his public speaking.
He also expressed his plans and hopes to participate in as many country shows as possible in the next year to generate ideas for his own trade show.
The second finalist, runner-up after him was Rebekah Starick who represented the Angaston A H & F society and is currently attending classes at Agricultural Science.
Justin Ross, PIRSA Director of Agriculture and Wine commented that the winner and finalists are a very important part of the country shows around the area.
He said that the state authorities were very proud to support the Young Rural Ambassador every year which spots and awards devoted youth in the agricultural show action.
He conveyed his congratulations to the winner Lachy Johnson as well as the rest of the finalists for this year and can’t wait to see their progress in the future.
In 2015-16 period alone, South Australia’s agriculture, food and wine sectors have yielded over $18b in revenue, 45% of the state’s trade exports, and employed 147,400 individuals or 20% of the South Australia's workforce.
The state rural area’s are vital to South Australia’s abundance and make up over $25b of the state’s economy. These areas generate almost 50% of the trade exports from only 29% of the state’s population.
The young rural ambassador award recognises the contribution of the young people to the agricultural landscape.