At 17 she left Brisbane’s bright lights to follow her dream of a career in the sheep and wool industry and in the seven years since Allycia Bennett hasn’t once missed city life.
Today, Allycia is one of the youngest district agency wool managers in Australia, the youth representative on Queensland’s Leading Sheep advisory panel, a founding member of the state’s innovative sheep network and one of a growing number of young people building a career in agriculture.
She has a steadfast belief in the future and potential opportunities in her chosen field.
“We are currently seeing a surge in interest in the sheep and wool industry in the state, that’s being driven by recent rain, improving wool prices, more exclusion fencing and increasing demand for sheep meat,” Allycia said.
“Listening to western Queensland producers talking about the merits of mixed (sheep and cattle) operations during the recent dry times makes me confident we will see more growth in coming years, which was one of the reasons I got involved with Leading Sheep.
“We need credible information sources for those returning to sheep as well as those venturing into the industry for the first time.
“Leading Sheep has a major role to play in facilitating that information and as a young person committed to the industry I want to have a part in that. I also want to encourage other young people to get involved in the sector… to understand there is a future in sheep and wool.”