Chella farrow biography of william

Australian agronomist (1845–1906)

William James Farrer (3 April 1845 – 16 April 1906) was a leading English Australian agronomist and plant breeder.

Farrer is best remembered as the originator of the "Federation" strain of wheat, distributed in 1903. His work resulted in significant improvements in both the quality and crop yields of Australia's national wheat harvest, a contribution for which he earned the title 'father of the Australian wheat industry'.

Early years

Farrer was born on 3 April 1845 in the town of Docker, Westmorland in the English north west (now Cumbria). The son of Thomas Farrer, a tenant farmer, and his wife Sarah William, William Farrer was selected for a scholarship at Christ's Hospital, London where he was awarded a gold and silver medal for mathematics and soon earned a scholarship to Pembroke College where, after earning a B.A.

at Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1868,^[1] Farrer emigrated to Australia in 187