Loreto Normanhurst alumna Kristen Hegarty (née Kilby, '05) recently shared an update on her Nuffield Farming Scholarship, sponsored by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund. Through the scholarship, she is undertaking international research into how livestock producers can diversify and strengthen their businesses to improve climate resilience. Below, she reflects on her journey so far.

I attended Loreto Normanhurst from 2002 to 2005 as a boarder from Coonamble. Today, my husband Simon and I live and work on a sheep and cattle property in Cassilis in the Upper Hunter. Recently I was honoured to be awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, sponsored by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

My Nuffield research is exploring how livestock producers can diversify and add value to their farming enterprises to improve climate resilience. Areas of interest include cut flowers, agritourism, pastured hens, agroforestry and other complementary enterprises that can strengthen farm businesses without taxing on farm resources such as land or water.

As part of the scholarship, I have recently completed eight weeks of international travel through Japan, Vietnam, Kenya, the Netherlands, Spain and Texas, USA. Despite the diversity of farming systems and cultures, the same challenges continue to emerge: climate variability and water security, an ageing agricultural workforce, and the widening gap between what farms produce and what producers are paid.

One of the greatest strengths of the Nuffield program is the opportunity to see not only the world’s leading agricultural businesses, but also the broader realities facing farming communities. In Kenya, while equatorial conditions and two annual wet seasons provide favourable growing conditions, political and economic instability present significant challenges to agricultural development.

In Texas, I saw firsthand the pressures facing the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest groundwater resources. In some regions, irrigation capacity has declined by up to 90 per cent over the past two decades, with no coordinated recovery plan in place. Rapid population growth, alongside expanding solar and data centre developments, is increasing land values while reducing access to water for agriculture.

My Nuffield journey is far from over. I still have five weeks of travel remaining and look forward to visiting Tasmania, New Zealand, Canada and Prince Edward Island as I continue exploring innovative pathways to build more resilient farming businesses.