Finalists in the CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever Award

Finalists named in CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever Award!

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Three rising stars have just been announced as finalists in the CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever Award by Cotton Australia.

Congratulations to our own CRDC Innovation Broker Elsie Hudson (pictured top left), to CottonInfo Technical Lead and CRDC-supported PhD scholar Sharna Holman of Qld's Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (pictured top right), and to HMAg agronomist Alexandra Trinder (pictured bottom left).

Elsie began her career bug checking during holidays from the University of Queensland and advanced to agronomist in Narrabri. During the 2018 drought, she joined CottonInfo as a Regional Extension Officer, later becoming a Research and Development Manager, now Innovation Broker, at CRDC. In her role, she manages key research portfolios to deliver outcomes for growers, and leads major disease research through the Australian Cotton Disease Collaboration (ACDC). Elsie is based in Goondiwindi, where she’s a member of the Macintyre Valley Field Day committee.

Sharna wears three hats: she's a development and extension officer with Qld DAF, the industry’s biosecurity technical lead with CottonInfo, and a PhD student supported by CRDC. Sharna splits her time between Toowoomba Qld and Kununurra WA, where she is conducting her PhD research into a damaging pest for northern cotton, the cluster caterpillar, which will inform industry pest management practices. In her role with CottonInfo, Sharna has driven awareness of the importance of biosecurity, and through her effort, more than half of Australian cotton farms are now equipped with a biosecurity plan. Sharna is a passionate advocate for young people in agriculture.

Alex is a cotton consultant and Director at HMAg in Moree, where she manages large areas of irrigated and dryland cotton with impressive yields. She is actively involved in the Moree Young Aggies group, facilitating community fundraising and scholarships, and contributes to the Gwydir Cotton Growers Association as Treasurer. Alexandra founded the Gwydir Valley Young Consultants’ Group to mentor younger agronomists and serves on the board of Crop Consultants Australia, focusing on professional development and agronomic research projects.

The recipient of the Award will be announced at the Cotton Industry Awards dinner at the Gold Coast on August 8.