Sharna Holman’s passion for agriculture was nurtured in the unlikely location of North Rocks in Sydney.
Sharna, 30, attended Muirfield High School, which has a farm.
There, she found herself drawn to subjects with an agricultural science focus and enjoyed all facets of the study, both practical and theoretical.
“I was fortunate to have teachers who encouraged me to pursue ag-focused subjects and explained to me that I could pursue a career in this field,” she said.
And, so she has. Sharna is currently a development extension officer (Cotton) and PhD candidate at the QLD Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
“I began focusing on cotton in the latter half of my degree and found the industry was incredibly supportive of young people,“ she said. “When I was in my third year, I received a Cotton Australia scholarship to attend their bi-annual conference.
“After that I really knew I wanted to work in the cotton industry. Everyone was very inclusive and there was this real hunger to adopt research and I knew, ‘This is where I want to be’.
“The hunger for knowledge in the cotton industry transcends regions, ages and technologies, whether it’s water management, nutrition or pest management, people want to find out more.”
Sharna’s journey to the cotton industry began in 2014 when she attended the Australian Cotton Conference as a student scholar while studying a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at the University of Sydney.
She subsequently pursued a CRDC Summer Scholarship at the Australian Cotton Research Institute in Narrabri, NSW.
Under Dr Mary Whitehouse, Sharna researched Helicoverpa Bt resistance genetics. After graduating, she then joined Queensland DAF as a development extension officer in Emerald and later assumed CottonInfo’s biosecurity technical lead role, contributing to significant advances like August planting research and boosting crop yields.
Sharna’s current CRDC-supported PhD research focuses on the pest status of cluster caterpillar in northern Australia, addressing sustainable cotton production challenges.
As such, she is based in Kununurra, WA for three months annually undertaking field research.
“It’s been great collaborating with the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to undertake field work in Kununurra as there is a more reliable caterpillar population,“ Sharna said.
“So, it’s quite exciting as the research that happens in WA has implications for cotton production in Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory.”
Sharna Holman’s burgeoning career was last month recognised when she was named a finalist in the Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year award, alongside Elsie Hudson of Goondiwindi and Alex Trinder of Moree, NSW.
The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) award recognises emerging cotton growers and industry participants, who bring a fresh wave of enthusiasm, energy and ideas.
“It’s quite nice knowing that other people see the value in what you’re doing,” Sharna said.
“Considering the amount of passionate young people who work in the industry as a whole, I feel very honoured.”
Sharna’s goals are to complete her PhD over the next 12 months and to continue encouraging young people to enter the cotton industry. Especially city-slickers like her who are carving successful careers in agriculture.
“I’m a really big advocate of you can take whatever skill you have and apply it to the cotton industry,“ she said. “It’s great to have young, passionate people in an industry.
“Whether you’ve got a communication degree, for example, I just think there’s so many different ways that you can apply various skills to agriculture.
“So, I think just making sure that there’s people coming into the cotton industry from backgrounds that aren’t necessarily ag-related.”
And, surely, there’s no greater example of that than Sharna herself!
