The 17-year-old who is a student at Merriwa Central School the trip to Sydney was very worthwhile as she received the top award for the NSW school based apprentice/trainee of the Year. She undertook the traineeship as part of her Primary Industries certificate in agriculture during the last two years at high school.

The traineeship was through Hunter Local Lands Services (LLS) based at Merriwa with her direct supervisor being Maria Cameron, Senior Land Services Officer, with Hunter LLS.

This was the first time Hunter LLS had employed someone through a school based traineeship.

Tahli thanked her employer Hunter Local Land Services and her direct supervisor Maria Cameron who she said provided me with an incredible work experience and supported me throughout this entire journey.

"I am so excited to see where this journey takes me and take advantage of the opportunities that will unfold," she said.

The traineeship over two years involved 800 hours at Hunter LLS where she worked on various programs including property mapping and planning, regenerative agriculture and the paddocks between the years.

"What I liked about the traineeship was putting what I learnt at school into practice," she said.

"It showed me the practical side of agriculture and different management like regenerative practices."

She has now set her sights on study at the University of New England at Armidale undertaking either a Bachelor of Agriculture or Animal Science. Her aim one day is to return to work for Hunter LLS. The field day was held on Kyle Ropa's Hunter River irrigation farm and he told attendees the paddock they were standing in was under more than one metre of water in the July flood.

"We had sown lucerne two weeks before the flood in the adjoining paddock and it was all lost but the pasture trial site was sown in June and survived," he said.