The Benalla resident, 81, has spent his entire life in farming and is passionate about innovative farming practices and passing his knowledge to the next generation.

“I’m retired now but I’ve always been working towards making our farm better,” he said.

“We’ve got a huge population and we have to grow food to feed them.

“We’ve got to encourage the younger people to go onto the land.”

Mr Tallis has been involved with the Grasslands Society, Dookie Land Management Group and Sustainable Grazing Systems.

He has also passed on his knowledge at the Dookie campus of the University of Melbourne for several decades.

“I was so passionate about our students that nearly every time someone completed their course, I’d employ them,” he said. “They never let me down once.

Mr Tallis, who has been married to Mary for 55 years, has also been chairman of the Dookie Farms 2000 Project, a trustee and president of the Benalla Art Gallery, and served on the Old Geelong Grammarians Association and Council of Currawa Primary School.

“He’s very passionate about the land and I think he’s loved his career on the land,” Mrs Tallis said of her husband.