A young man whose family has been farming in NSW and South Australia for more than 150 years is the latest inductee into Australian Wool Innovation's Graduate Training Program.
George Lehmann graduated last year from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Food and Agribusiness.
He grew up on a mixed farm producing wheat, canola and Merino sheep at Junee in the NSW Riverina.
His family farmed in SA from the 1870s until moving to their current farm in 1913.
The 18-month program starts this month and is based mainly at the AWI office in Sydney where graduates gain exposure to many areas of the company's business from on-farm and off-farm research and development through to marketing.
The graduates are also given the chance to gain global exposure to the wool supply chain through two three-month international rotations.
The program is aimed at graduates from a broad cross section of disciplines who have a background in or a connection with the Australian wool industry.
The inaugural program began in March 2018.
AWI said competition for the 2020 program was extremely high and with a high-calibre group of candidates.
Mr Lehmann said he was "over the moon".
"I want to embrace every opportunity presented to me and learn more about the whole supply chain and breadth of the company, as the scope of all its work fascinates me."
He also is convinced that wool's future is extremely bright.
Mr Lehmann will first work with Jane Littlejohn, general manager of research, and her sheep production team for three months before hopping the farm gate to AWI's processing innovation and education extension team.
Recruitment for the next AWI Graduate will begin early 2021 for the 2022 AWI Graduate Training Program.
