Ballance Scholarships

Each year we offer up to four scholarships to provide a financial boost to students wanting to help shape the future of New Zealand's agricultural sector.

 

Ballance Agri-Nutrients offers up to five scholarships each year to offer a financial boost to those wanting to help shape the future of food production in New Zealand. Each scholarship is valued up to $4,000 a year and can be held for up to three years. The awards are made to subsidise study at a tertiary level in any field related to agri-business or the primary sector. 

Scholarship applications are open to all New Zealanders, of any age. 

There is a wealth of opportunities, not just on farms and in farm advisory roles, but across many professions from food science through to patent law, accounting and chemical engineering. The Ballance scholarship programme aims to attract and support talented and curious minds from a range of fields of study so our agribusiness sector continues to lead the world in best practice and innovation.

 

Our 2019 Scholarship Winners

Jacob Howard: One year scholarship

Jacob Howard from Pukekohe is studying a Bachelor of Science with a major in agriculture, at Massey University. After completing his degree, Jacob will look for an environmental consultancy internship to utilise his passions along with said degree to truly contribute to minimising New Zealand’s environmental problems regarding current agricultural systems. “I feel environmental consultancy on farms is very relevant and important, as it provides links with farmers to potential environmental benefiting options they may not even know about”.

Madeline Thompson: Two year scholarship

Madeline Thompson from Tauranga is studying a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economic and Finance, at Victoria University. After completing her degree, Madeline wishes to go to The London School of Economics to complete a masters in economics. On completion she would like to return to New Zealand and work in financial forecasting or finance in the agribusiness sector because “it is so varied and appears to be such interesting work in the current climate of intense innovation”.

Virginia Hogan: One and half year scholarship

Virginia Hogan from West Melton is studying a Bachelor of Science majoring in Environmental Science and Environmental Management. After completing her degree she hopes to work in the New Zealand agricultural industry, with aspirations to do further study. “After doing a management paper at Lincoln I really enjoyed learning about GMP's. I believe it is so crucial to have everyone on the same page. Especially, helping farmers to understand risks and limits of their farm, this can be done by scientist's providing research and help towards managing a farm”.

Merran Casse: One year scholarship

Merran Casse from Lawrence is studying a Bachelor of Agriculture at Lincoln University. Merran has always seen herself working in the agriculture sector and on completion of her degree she sees her main goal being to work for a company that shares the joint passion of hers, which is in aiding farmers to establish successful and high yielding crops and pasture. “Growing up on farm has allowed me to gain a great appreciation of how important it is to use and manage pastures and crops correctly; this often is the determining factor of whether the crop will actually perform to the standard required”.

Gabriel O'Callaghan: One year scholarship

Gabriel O’Callaghan from Kaitaia is studying a Bachelor of Engineering at Massey University and was one of two recipients of the engineering scholarships awarded by Ballance this year. Gabriel is particularly interested in exploring ways that the amount of nitrogen in New Zealand’s waterways can be decreased. “If a fertiliser product could be developed so that the nitrogen was attracted to soil particles or the product itself, then release nitrogen at the rate at which pasture can use it, there would be little to no waste of nitrogen through leaching. This would ultimately decrease the amount of nitrogen found in both the ground and river water”.