First there was a flight west to the Perth Royal Show, then the young leader attended the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award gala dinner at Parliament House in Canberra. In addition to various agricultural shows, Grace’s diary soon also filled with meetings advocating for agricultural shows and rural Australia with Members of Parliament, connecting with the National Farmers’ Federation, capped off by a speaking engagement at the Cattle Connect Conference in Queensland, hosted by Cattle Australia.
“The role is what you make it, but I essentially advocate for the important community role of agricultural shows,” Grace says. “There’s lots of travel involved but I love travel. And everything is a networking or development opportunity.”
A passionate advocate for agriculture, and especially agricultural education, Grace was the 2024 RAS NSW Rural Achiever and intends to become an ag teacher. In her ambassadorial role, she will help bridge the rural-urban divide and showcase opportunities within the agricultural industry.
“There’s currently no federal funding for agricultural education in schools and I think that’s a pretty important step in getting young families and young people to talk about where their food and fibre come from,” she says.
That learning process began for Grace at school in Sydney, where she “became hooked from the first ag lesson” and subsequently fell in love with the rural lifestyle and people through showing cattle. After school she completed a Bachelor of Agriculture at UNE and is now undertaking her Masters, including a practical placement at Armidale Secondary College.
Watching the students parade their livestock in the show ring has brought back fond memories.
Grace Collins
“My cattle showing really ramped up when I moved to Armidale to study,” Grace says. “A lot of learning happened showing Angus steers and Hereford cattle for stud breeders. My only expectation coming to UNE was that I would continue to enjoy learning about agriculture as much as I did at school and I did that tenfold, which set me up for success.
“It wasn’t just the content, but also the real-world experience of the industry and living in St Albert’s College and making great connections.”
Working as a school farm assistant in Armidale and on the annual grain harvest in Cryon (in north-western NSW) for five years has also equipped Grace with some “pretty good life skills”. “As someone who grew up in the city, those experiences have been really important to my education. They have put everything into context. I can now explain agricultural processes to students much better, because I know what it feels like to drive a tractor and what goes into harvesting grain. Kids need to know that what they’re learning will relate to their life after school.”
Grace Collins was crowned Agricultural Shows Australia’s 2025 National Rural Ambassador.
As for future careers, Grace is quick to highlight the diversity of jobs available in agriculture. But, for now, she’s focused on encouraging the recruitment of more agriculture teachers, a national curriculum for ag education and funding for school farms.
“I plan on spending a lot of time as ambassador talking to influential people, in government and the private sector, about how they can help the next generation of young people in rural and regional Australia succeed. I also want to inspire young people to reconnect with their local shows.
“This experience has improved my self-confidence, public speaking and communications skills. It has opened doors and led me down a path that is full of opportunity. I believe that the future for young rural Australians is pretty bright.”
