Kristen Hegarty

A livestock producer and cut flower entrepreneur, Kristen Hegarty brings a blend of qualifications, creative enterprise and community leadership to her Nuffield scholarship. 

She will investigate ways to add value to traditional livestock enterprises with outcomes focused on improved business and climate resilience.  

Based in Cassilis, NSW, Kristen is an active member of the local community. 

In partnership with her husband and his family, Kristen manages a 1000-hectare sheep and cattle property, Belvedere, alongside her own horticultural venture, Cassilis Flowers.  The family’s livestock operation includes 400 cows and 800 Merinos, managed through rotational grazing and detailed rainfall and grazing charting. 

Her flower farm features dahlias, ranunculus, native and African wildflowers, roses and peonies. She also sells dahlia tubers and seeds, runs on-farm workshops, has built and self-manages a website and customers both wholesale and direct.  

She has a Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Certificate in Marketing from UNSW, and is a registered wool classer.  Her previous career in marketing in the animal health pharmaceutical industry adds depth to her leadership and communication skills.

Her Nuffield studies will explore how diversification – particularly through novel markets like cut flowers – can buffer farm income during drought.

Kristen will investigate additional income streams that do not overly burden on-farm resources and benchmark their performance. She aims to investigate scalable models of micro flower farming, agrotourism, and paddock-to-table experiences in Australia, the Netherlands and Africa.