Sandy Middleton from Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga has won a trip to New Zealand after taking out the inaugural Australian University Crops Competition held in Temora, NSW on 26th and 27th September. Twenty two students, representing seven universities from across Australia went head-to-head in the classroom and the paddock to test their knowledge. Over an intensive two days, competitors’ skills were tested in the areas of seed identification and analysis, pulses, grain grading, live crop identification, weed and foliar disease identification, yield potential and production practices.

The top five students in the 2009 Australian University Crops Competition were:

Winner: Sandy Middleton, Charles Sturt University
Runner Up: Michael Noble, University of Adelaide
Third: Annieka Paridaen, La Trobe University
Fourth: Denielle Kilby, University of New England
Fifth: Alexander Byrne, La Trobe University



The University Team Challenge was won by La Trobe University, Victoria.

Initiated by Grain Growers Association (GGA), with proud founding sponsor Syngenta Crop Protection and supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under its Australia’s Farming Future program, this competition aims to increase the technical knowledge and skills development of university undergraduates studying in the field of agriculture, and to increase the awareness of the cropping industry as a career opportunity.