Longford's Penny Hooper receives Nuffield Scholarship for 2026

Tasmania’s sole Nuffield Scholarship recipient for 2026 plans to use her funds to study how to make livestock and dairy farming compatible with a sustainable work-life balance.

Longford’s Penny Hooper has received tens of thousands of dollars in bursary money that will be used for international travel as part of her 18-month research project.

Supported by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and JM Roberts Charitable Trust, Ms Hooper said her scholarship success was “a bit unbelievable”.

“Looking at the calibre of people that have also received the scholarship, it’s quite hard to believe that I’ve been selected as one of them.”

Ms Hooper was a livestock manager at Vaucluse farm at Conara and now works at BWB Management, a company that looks after seven family syndicate-owned dairy operations in Northern Tasmania.

She says her area of study was informed by her personal experiences and by observing how her friends who still work on farms managed their time.

“Now that I’m in a more office-based role, I’ve been getting that work-life balance back and am feeling a lot happier and healthier,” Ms Hooper said.

“It made me question whether, in agriculture and livestock, there are ways we can stop everyone working until the work’s done.

“Are there ways we can get into set hours?”

Ms Hooper said she was looking forward to travelling to various countries as part of her scholarship and estimates that she will visit at least half a dozen nations during her studies.
“Hopefully, with my research, I can put forward some strategies and systems farmers can use to have employees work fewer hours.

“Agriculture has a culture where people are expected to work long hours, so it’d be nice to do a bit of work trying to change that and change the perception of what it means to work in the sector.”

There were 19 Nuffield Scholarship recipients overall for 2026, with each state and territory represented.

“Our 2026 scholars embody the innovation and resilience that define Australian agriculture,” Nuffield Australia executive director Guy Hebblewhite said.

“Their drive to learn from global leaders and apply insights locally will spark fresh thinking and strengthen agricultural communities nationwide.”