The E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation was one of the first stops on the annual Rural Awareness Tour organised by Australia’s peak beef producer body, the Cattle Council of Australia this week. The nine participants in the three-State whistlestop tour included representatives from the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS); Animal Health Australia and the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE). The visit was coordinated by the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a research alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and included an inspection of CSU’s newly-completed Veterinary Science Pre-clinical Centre for teaching anatomy and physiology. They also discussed issues facing rural tertiary education providers as well as future directions in agricultural research and collaborative links. Director of the E H Graham Centre, Professor Deirdre Lemerle said the Cattle Council chose to highlight Wagga Wagga on this year’s Rural Awareness Tour because of CSU’s and DPI’s significant investment in agriculture. “Wagga is attracting top-quality agricultural and veterinary scientists and researchers and CSU is training the next generation of agricultural and veterinary practitioners,” Professor Lemerle said.