Rozzie O’Reilly, 28, from Holbrook NSW, has an exciting year ahead of her, after being crowned the 2021 Australian winner of the prestigious Zanda McDonald Award.
O’Reilly, 28 years old, is breeding manager at LAMBPRO, Australia’s largest prime lamb seedstock business. She is responsible for managing the database for over 6,000 performance recorded stud ewes, co-ordinating staff and day-to-day activities, and providing numerous client services. O’Reilly has a Bachelor of Animal Science with First Class Honours, and also runs a sheep and cattle business on agistment and lease country with her fiancé.
The annual Award, regarded as a badge of honour by the agribusiness industry, recognises and supports talented and passionate young professionals in the ag sector from Australia and New Zealand.
Zanda McDonald Award Chairman Richard Rains says “Rozzie is a warm, personable and intelligent individual. As judges, we were extremely impressed with her commitment, achievements and dedication to her role and the wider industry. She applied for the Award a few years ago, and rather than being knocked back, has since made great strides in her career, and come out on top. Her aspirations are strong and well aligned with what the Award can provide her by way of mentoring. We can’t wait to see what’s next in store for Rozzie, and helping to take her career to the next level through the opportunities that the award provides.”
O’Reilly was “thrilled” to receive the Award, and is particularly excited about spending time with members of the PPP Group, the network of over 150 of Australasia’s influential agri-business men and women, of which Zanda McDonald was a foundation member.
“I feel completely overwhelmed and honoured to win this award. I’m really excited about the insights I’ll get into some of the best agriculture companies in the industry, and how I can apply these learnings to further benefit the industry,” says O’Reilly.
O’Reilly was named as a finalist alongside fellow Australians Hugh Dawson, 22, Head Stockman at Barkly Pastoral Company in the Northern Territory, Oli Le Lievre, 28, Consultant at KPMG in Melbourne and Founder of Humans of Agriculture, and Tim Emery, 35, a Technical Officer with Tropical Beef Technology Services at the Agricultural Business Research Institute in Roma.
The Award would normally crown one winner from across Australasia, but in response to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, in 2021 there will be an Australian and a New Zealand winner. The kiwi winner will be announced at a separate celebration in NZ in April.
The Award, sponsored by Allflex, Australian Community Newspapers, CBRE Agribusiness, MDH, MSD Animal Health, Pilatus, The PPP Group, Te Mania Angus Australia and Westpac, sees O’Reilly receiving an impressive professional development package which includes an all-expenses paid trans-Tasman mentoring trip to high-performing farms and businesses in Australia and New Zealand, professional media training, $10,000 towards further education, and incredible networking opportunities. O’Reilly will travel by a Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to parts of her mentoring trip, enabling her to reach diverse and remote farming operations on both sides of the Tasman.
To find out more about the Zanda McDonald Award visit their website
