Free contest, John Ralph Essay Competition 2011, top prize: $2,000 (Australia)

Deadline: 14 October 2011

Topic 2011: Agriculture and energy, a growing challenge in the world and in Australia.

The world’s population is projected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, and it has been forecast that global agricultural output will need to increase by 70% to meet this need. At the same time, agriculture is being called on to meet the world’s future energy needs by providing feedstocks for biofuels, and also to assist in reducing the future risk of human-induced climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon in soils and forestry plantations. How feasible is it that global and Australian agriculture will be able to meet these competing demands, and what Australian policies should be implemented to assist the sector to meet these challenges?

Rules of entry

Entrants in the competition are required to write an essay titled ‘Agriculture and energy, a growing challenge in the world and in Australia.'

There are two entry categories for this challenge, students and professionals.

The student category is open to person undertaking full time education (till the PHD level) and excludes professional undertaking vocational training. The later can enter in the 'professional category'. PHD student can enter in the 'professional category'. Professors, lecturers, teachers, educators are invited to support this initiative by submitting the competition topic in their essay program.

The professional category includes farmers, agribusiness participants, policy makers, researcher, but exclude professional writer (main occupation Journalist of communication).

A judging panel consisting of Institute staff and John Ralph will have the task of select two winning entries – one from a farmer and the other from agribusiness – and these will be published (along with a number of other papers on the same topic) in the May 2010 edition of the Farm Policy Journal.

Entries must have from 1500 to 4500 words in length. The essay is expected to present the author point of view based on a sounds reasoning, logic and style. The scientific style (quotes and references and reference list) is not compulsory. the Essay has to be written keeping in mind the nature of the readership: general public familiarised with agricultural topics and issues. Editing tips and assistance can be provided by the AFI team.

Entries should be submitted in electronic format, with the closing date being Friday 14th of October 2011.

Professors, lecturer, educators willing to participate have to register their interest before the Friday 23rd of September 2011.

Prizes

The John Ralph Essay Prize is a cash prize of $2000, a publication in the summer edition of the Farm Policy Journal, a complimentary one year Farm Policy Journal subscription, and an entry to the next Agriculture Roundtable Conference and full membership to the Australian Farm Institute (value $275).

The Student John Ralph Essay Prize is a cash prize of $500, a publication in the summer edition of the Farm Policy Journal, a complimentary one year Farm Policy Journal subscription, and an entry to the next Agriculture Roundtable Conference and full membership to the Australian Farm Institute (value $275).

Call to Ag professors, lecturers

Professors and lecturers are encouraged to fully participate in engaging student with this competition. The Australian Farm Institute hopes this essay competition will create discussion and debate around the topic, and encourage students and the wider community to engage in the numerous vibrant and topical questions related to agriculture studies.

Any professor, lecturer interested in this project will be invited to include the competition topic in his/her student’s assessment tasks, and to register at least three entries to the competition.

These professors and lecturer will be asked to submit a minimum of 3 entries to the competition and will be offered:

* One year’s subscription to the Farm Policy Journal
* One research report of their choice.

Judging criteria

Entries will be judged using the following criteria;

* Originality: proposed policies should go beyond just criticizing existing policies, and preferably propose fresh ideas or improvements that will help the sector to grow;
* Comprehensiveness: the policy will need to address a full range of agricultural activities and sectors involved in Australian agriculture;
* Practicality: proposed policies will need to find the right balance between being bold and practical – there should be a reasonable chance proposed policies will be adopted.
* Clarity: the policy statement should be written in clear, jargon-free language so that it is easily read and understood.

Entry Form

If you want to participate, you have to feel the following form before the 14th of October 2011.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: info@farminstitute.org.au

For submissions: submit online here

Website: http://www.farminstitute.org.au