The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has opened applications for its 2019 Science and Innovation Awards.
The awards are open to people between the ages of 18 and 35, who can apply for grants of up to $22,000 to fund projects on innovative or emerging scientific issues of benefit to primary industries.
There are 13 industry award categories: cotton; dairy; eggs and poultry (layers); established, new and emerging rural industries; fisheries and aquaculture; forest and wood products; grains; health and biosecurity; meat and livestock; pork; red meat processing; viticulture and oenology; and wool.
An eligible project is defined as a specific body of work which is an innovative scientific or technological innovation or process and is related to a significant, long standing or emerging issue in an agriculture, fisheries or forestry related industry.
It should demonstrate dedication to the future of rural and regional industries with a commitment to promoting science and innovation as an integral part of that future.
Applications close on 12 October, with award winners recognised as part of the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARES) Outlook 2019 conference in Canberra in March next year.
Winners will then be invited to apply for the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources’ Award, which provides additional funding for an extended research project.
Since the Science and Innovation Awards were launched in 2001, they have helped more than 230 young researchers, innovators and scientists turn their ideas into reality through more than $3.7 million in grant funding.
