Jacinta Rose awarded RMSA Fellowship to IFAJ Pre-Congress Tour (Oct 2015)

Young Stock Journal rural journalist, Jacinta Rose has been awarded Rural Media SA’s Fellowship to attend the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ (IFAJ) Pre-Congress Tour in Cairns.

Themed “Hot Tropics 2015 - Farming Australia's Far North” and jointly organised by the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists (ACAJ) and the Queensland Rural Press Club, the IFAJ Pre-Congress Tour spanned from 8^th-12^th October 2015 in Cairns and Sydney.

Although the RMSA Fellowship provided Jacinta with the $1,300 registration fee, she was expected to fund her own travel to Cairns and back from Sydney. This mix of funding was quite intentional, as RMSA believed Fellowship recipients develop a greater level of personal commitment when they have a personal financial stake in an initiative.

Jacinta was born on a sheep and cropping farm at Narrabri in NSW where she developed a genuine love of farming from an early age. Her family then moved to a mixed farming property at Wynarka, near Karoonda. It was here that the experience of living in the SA Murray Mallee further ignited Jacinta’s passion for agriculture.

While completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies at the University of South Australia, Jacinta worked as a casual reporter for the Mount Barker Courier and the Stock Journal. After graduating, she commenced full time work with Fairfax Agricultural Media, primarily focusing on the Stock Journal.

Her attendance at the IFAJ Pre-Congress Tour offered a chance to experience one of the world’s most advanced tropical agriculture regions set in a renowned tourist playground. Jacinta was able to see first-hand how a major commercial agriculture sector not only coexists, but thrives in a pristine natural environment, from tropical rainforest jungle to the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.

The Pre-Conference Tour spent the initial three days in far north Queensland, then moved to Sydney for two nights. From there, many of the registrants took an onward flight to Auckland in New Zealand to join the IFAJ World Congress.

RMSA Show Breakfast guests watching RMSA President & Rural Media Icon, Ian Doyle interview the recipient of RMSA's Fellowship to the ACAJ/IFAJ Pre-Conference Tour in Cairns, the Stock Journal's Jacinta Rose