Phillip Hughes with Isaac Perina, ‘tree of life’ award winner Neil Reinke and Dusty Elsom.

CENTRAL Queensland producers Neil and Jan-Adele Reinke have taken out this year’s “tree of life” award for their work in fixing up systemic erosion problem on their property between Bundaberg and Miriam Vale.

The pair were in Toowoomba this week alongside the rest of the 2023 Lachlan Hughes Foundation scholarship recipients presenting the findings of their experience and the work they had done. The award is valued at $40,000, including a cash prize and access to a series of programs.

LHF was developed after Lachlan Hughes died in an on-farm accident in 2018 at 36-years-old. Mr Hughes and his wife Anna, from Heatherlea station near Dulacca in Southern Queensland, had a strong focus on regenerative agriculture and taking a holistic approach to grazing.

The program was initially set up to support one annual scholarship for young producers with an interest in regenerative agriculture connecting them to professionals for training and mentoring. After three years it developed into a four module program with six annual participants.

The class of 2023 was in Toowoomba this week to present their experiences of the program and meet the class of 2024 – who were form a range of different agricultural industries.

• Beef Central will have more on the winners next week

Faces from the awards

Emma Muirhead was at the event and snapped some photos for Beef Central.

Cibo Labs Phil Tickle, with Alister Hughes, Jacynta and Adam Coffey

Tim Boyd with Jason Johnson and Michael Treloar.