Prestigious prize set for 2011 rural writing award winner

The Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists is pleased to announce a new partnership with the international agribusiness company John Deere which upgrades the prize for next year’s winner of the prestigious Australian Star Prize for Rural Writing.

Thanks to John Deere, the writing award now comes with a $5000 professional development trip to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists conferenc e being hosted at Ontario in Canada on 14-18 September 2011.

Announcing the sponsorship at the Rural Press Club lunch in Brisbane, vice-president Jane Milburn said ACAJ is delighted to have the support of businesses such as John Deere at a national and international level to support quality rural journalism.

“We value the involvement and contribution of John Deere. It enables ACAJ to continue to develop our awards process and further motivates rural journalists to enter their work,” Jane said.

The John Deere Australian Star Prize for Rural Writing is part of a suite of awards run annually by the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists as a way of recognising and honouring the work of print, broadcast and online rural journalists and rural photographers.

In other award news announced at the Farm Writers Association of New South Wales lunch in Sydney, Rabobank is upgrading its sponsorship of the 2011 Australian Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting to include a $5000 trip to the IFAJ conference in Canada.

Entries for the rural print, broadcast and photography awards will be called early next year.

The Rural Press Club will select a Queensland winner in each of the categories, with those winners going forward to compete at a national level with interstate winners.

Jane Milburn is co-ordinating the national print award, ACAJ immediate past president Gordon Collie is co-ordinating the national photo awards and ACAJ president Liz Harfull is coordinating the national broadcast awards. The winning entries will go on to represent Australia in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Star Prizes in each category.

More information about ACAJ and the awards can be found at www.acaj.org.au while more information about the IFAJ conference can be found at www.ifaj.org

Contact Jane Milburn on 0408 787 964