Bruce Watson, 2009 Nuffield Scholarship winner on his property at Parkes

Bruce Watson, a grain grower from Parkes, and former Chairman of New South Wales Partners in Grain is one of 16 Australian farmers to be awarded a 2009 Nuffield Scholarship.

Nuffield farming scholarships, each worth $26,000, give young Australian farmers the opportunity to travel internationally and explore agricultural issues and opportunities in a global context. There are now approximately 1300 scholars worldwide since the establishment of the program in the UK in 1947.

Bruce’s scholarship has been sponsored by Macquarie Agricultural Services, a division of the Australian investment bank Macquarie Bank Ltd, and is being used to investigate factors influencing grain prices and long term price trends. Bruce will also be studying risk management options for growers to better manage price volatility.

Bruce is currently a director of his family farm business, Kebby & Watson, cropping 3500ha of winter cereals, oil seeds and pulses using no-till and controlled traffic farming techniques. He is responsible for finance, marketing, risk management and agronomy aspects of the business.

In February this year, Bruce departed Australia on a six week compulsory Global Focus Program which included travel with both Australian and international scholars to New Zealand, UK, France, Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and the United States of America. During this time the scholars visited various international industry bodies, politicians, bureaucrats, and diverse agricultural businesses (including dairy, broad acre cropping, horticulture and poultry).

Now home again, Bruce is busy preparing for the second portion of his study program where he will travel individually from other scholars to pursue areas specific to his nominated topic. Bruce, accompanied by his wife Karina, will depart Australia mid June and travel for up to 13 weeks through China, the United States of America, Canada, UK, Wales, France and Singapore. Bruce will return home in September to present his findings at the Nuffield Spring Tour in Sydney in October.

Bruce’s project is divided into two components.

 Firstly he is researching and seeking to understand the reasons behind the recent significant increases in global grain prices. The aim is to ascertain if this increase will be a short, one-off spike with prices reverting to previous levels, or alternatively, whether they will be “stronger for longer”, something that has been witnessed in the hard commodities. In particular, I would like to examine the fundamental supply and demand issues behind the grain market in addition to the impact of biofuels and the role of speculation in commodity futures markets.

The second component is an examination of current risk management options for grain growers to market their crop both pre and post harvest. In particular, given the significant volatility in both production and grain prices that has been experienced by many grain growers in Australia over he 2006 and 2007 harvest, he would like to identify low risk forward selling alternatives.

Nuffield Australia CEO Mr Jim Geltch says many Nuffield scholars go on to become active leaders in agriculture and the community, and sharing their research findings is an important part of the scholarship program.

“For many, the scholarship experience changes their lives by opening their eyes to the wider world and giving them the confidence to pursue their goals”, Mr Geltch says.

Applications for the 2010 Nuffield Scholarships are now open. More information about the scholarship program and application forms may be found on the Nuffield Australia website (www.nuffield.com.au) or can be obtained by contacting Bruce directly (watson.woodbine@gmail.com). Applications close 30^th June 2009.