Category / Careers

by Lynne Strong

Craig French says there are smart young shearers putting money away and buying houses and investing and buying property.

“There is big demand for agricultural workers on farms and a lot more opportunity for contract work – mustering, lamb marking etc. That means you’ve got a business and can build your own empire. There are smart young shearers putting money away and buying houses and investing and buying property, and post COVID there will not only be work all over Australia but work all over the world. And not all jobs are on farm or in the bush. AWI’s head office overlooks Sydney Harbour so you can live in a capital city and still be involved with the fibre.” Craig French AWI national manager of wool harvesting training and development.

Shearers and Young Farming Champions Tom Squires and Matt Cumming

In this third instalment of our Crafting Careers in Agriculture series we speak with Craig French, AWI’s national manager of wool harvesting training and development, who believes contracting and the renewal of wool processing in Australia offer opportunities for future careers in agriculture.

Craig French is a prime example of where a career in wool can take you. Born and bred in the northern suburbs of Sydney he had a longing for life on the land. Following his heart he travelled to Longreach Pastoral College after school to complete a wool classing qualification.

“I didn’t have a property to go back to so I started my wool career in the wool store in Sydney, then went jackarooing for three years, and then moved to Dubbo as a wool representative. I bought a farm here 18 years ago.”

Now running his own property while working remotely for AWI Craig believes wool harvesting is the perfect entry to a career in wool.

“I think we need to be targeting the Years 8 and 9 kids and giving them an introduction to wool harvesting – shearing, wool handling, wool classing, wool buyers and brokers. There are so many opportunities in the wool sector. I think COVID has made us look at what we do and how we do it and I believe Australia will have more early and middle stage processing [of wool] in the future and that will bring more jobs for people. But the initial attraction is shearing and wool handling.”

Formal qualifications are not required to become a shearer, which opens the job to anyone with a strong work ethic.

Craig French (far right) says a career in wool harvesting can take you everywhere

“You may not need qualifications [except for a wool classer, which requires a Certificate 4] but you need skills and AWI encourages these through events such as the annual National Merino Challenge and the School Wether Challenge, which engages with up to 50 schools at a time. One change we’ve seen is we have a lot more girls becoming shearers.”

With good money to be made Craig sees many opportunities for young people to craft their own career.

“There is big demand for agricultural workers on farms and a lot more opportunity for contract work – mustering, lamb marking etc. That means you’ve got a business and can build your own empire. There are smart young shearers putting money away and buying houses and investing and buying property, and post COVID there will not only be work all over Australia but work all over the world. And not all jobs are on farm or in the bush. AWI’s head office overlooks Sydney Harbour so you can live in a capital city and still be involved with the fibre.”

It comes as no surprise that when Craig is asked to nominate a career in wool he enthuses about shearing.

“A decent shearer shearing 150 sheep per day is earning roughly $2000 on a four-day week. It’s pretty good returns – that’s $100,000 a year. It may take 12-18 months to develop the skills to earn that money, however it’s not a bad apprenticeship.”

But don’t just take Craig’s word for it; here is what our Young Farming Champion Tom Squires has to say about his career in wool:

“Learning the craft of shearing at a young age has allowed me to complete a university degree, travel to seven countries around the world, buy my own sheep and to purchase a house. You’ll meet some of the best people in the sheds and have a great time along the way. Regardless of how long you spend in the industry, it’s a time in your life you will never forget.”

#CraftingCareers #CareersinWool #YouthinAg

 

by Lynne Strong

Dr Neil Moss says attracting and retaining people in agriculture starts with being employers of choice

“Dairy business owners need to identify what it takes to become an employer of choice. There needs to be an increased realisation that they are competing not only against dairy but other sectors such as mining or even other more urban based sectors. Some of the shortcomings of the dairy workplace need to be acknowledged, worked around and perhaps modified or compensated for. Improved employer training as well as workplace training for employees is crucial to the success of the industry as it evolves and increasingly needs to look to those who are less familiar with agriculture to join its forces.”

Dr Neil Moss is a director of Scibus and a long-time consultant to the dairy industry. In this second instalment of our Crafting Careers in Agriculture series he shares with us his views on the role of industry in attracting the future workforce.

Australia’s food and fibre sector is in a highly competitive workplace for staff and Neil believes there is a role for industry to swing the competition in the favour of agriculture.

“To compete in this marketplace you need to offer jobs that are financially attractive, have potential for progression, and are interesting; certainly not jobs that are “the bottom of dung pile” to only be considered by those that can’t be employed elsewhere. A dairying career is actually very complex and requires planning and attention to detail. It is a technically challenging job that brings a wonderful balance of working with people, animals, technology and the environment.”

There is a general trend for dairy enterprises to become larger in the future and with this increase in size comes the potential for new jobs, such as a herd manager or fodder production specialists. These jobs may be very suitable and attractive for those who may have both practical skills and tertiary qualifications to support the high levels of animal husbandry, data analysis, reporting and nutrition skills required. However, employment of people in what was dominantly a family-run operation sees new challenges.

“Many successful farms have evolved with family labour and not a lot of off-farm or employed labour. As a result the people who move from sole operators to employers haven’t always been trained, or had the opportunity, to develop the skills and understanding of what being an employer in a modern agricultural enterprise really is. There is a real need for this to be addressed. Dairy business owners need to identify what it takes to become an employer of choice. There needs to be an increased realisation that they are competing not only against dairy but other sectors such as mining or even other more urban based sectors. Some of the shortcomings of the dairy workplace need to be acknowledged, worked around and perhaps modified or compensated for. Improved employer training as well as workplace training for employees is crucial to the success of the industry as it evolves and increasingly needs to look to those who are less familiar with agriculture to join its forces.”

Alongside employer education Neil believes there is a role for industry research groups to conduct workplace forecasting as precision agriculture and measuring and monitoring become more important to the business of dairy.

When asked to nominate a future job within the dairy industry Neil returns to the herd manager as an example.

“The salary can be anywhere between $60-150,000 per annum depending on scale and complexity of enterprise, and may include other benefits such as accommodation. It’s a complicated interesting career with potential for competitive financial rewards, career progression, training within the business and opportunities for international and domestic travel. The potential for taking equity or moving into your own enterprise may be opened up as well. Within the right businesses these can be fantastic career opportunities that should be on the radar of anyone interested in agriculture.”

and how did Neil find his way into a career in agriculture?

Neil was born in Sydney and when he was ten years old his parents brought the general store at Dalgety in southern NSW, and not long after a 350-acre property where they ran cows and calves. Neil’s high school holidays were spent working on local farms, which, in part, fired his determination to study veterinary science at university, which included a PhD in dairy cattle reproduction. Neil has a Diploma of Human Resource Management from NCDEA. He is currently a director of Scibus and is their senior consultant to the dairy and beef industries

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn

 

by Lynne Strong

Crafting Careers in Agriculture Rob Kaan says it starts with engaging with young people and their parents (our consumers )

“We see the consumer being just as important as the farmer. Changing entrenched cultural values and beliefs held by parents is challenging so it’s really important to us to focus on students, which is why we target agriculture and STEM education in schools around the world. This helps the kids form their own educated and hopefully positive views on agriculture.” Rob Kaan MD Corteva Agriscience Australia/NZ/Japan/Korea

At Picture You in Agriculture (PYiA) we have four goals.

Achieving Goal 4 – attracting the best and brightest people to the agriculture sector which we do using our Young Farming Champions as role models in our in-school programs The Archibull Prize and Kreative Koalas also requires a whole of sector commitment to

  • expose young people as early as possible to jobs in agriculture whilst they are at school
  • ensure there are multiple touch points to agriculture along their school journey
  • equip students and job seekers with navigation resources into agricultural career pathways and jobs
  • ensure industry routinely assesses its skills and credential requirements
  • inspire the agriculture sector to take a whole of supply chain approach to being the image we want the world to see.

In this Crafting Careers in Agriculture* series we speak with leaders in the industry to understand their views on the future of the agricultural workplace.

Following the opinion piece from Young Farming Champion Emma Ayliffe our first Thought Leader is Rob Kaan

Rob is the managing director – Australia/NZ/Japan/Korea – at Corteva Agriscience, a company ahead of the curve when it comes to workforce forecasting to ensure they have the right team on the ground supporting farmers now and in the future.

Rob believes engaging with school and university students and, in turn, their parents (the consumers) is an important avenue for attracting people to agriculture.

“We see the consumer being just as important as the farmer. Changing entrenched cultural values and beliefs held by parents is challenging so it’s really important to us to focus on students, which is why we target agriculture and STEM education in schools around the world. This helps the kids form their own educated and hopefully positive views on agriculture.”

“It’s also why working with PYiA is important because it provides a pipeline from school to university, allowing us to identify and develop talent. A great example is Corteva’s Steph Tabone who has recently joined the Young Farming Champion program.”

Sparking an agricultural interest in students and the consumers is only one step to attracting the future agricultural workforce. Rob believes creating a workplace where people want to work is critical and Corteva is actively addressing this.

“Diversity in many forms is important but gender diversity is critical so we work to have positive policies in place such as maternity and paternity leave and strive to have gender balance within our teams and leadership. Employee flexibility is another important factor and this has been highlighted with COVID. We still need good guidelines and rules in place to support collaboration, but I think young people want a flexible work environment. Another factor is technology. School kids don’t always make the connection between cool technology and agriculture. That is a big gap and one we want to change.”

Finally, Rob talks about what he calls the purpose of agriculture; a notion that the sector not only provides food and fibre, but is influenced by holistic real-word interests.

“Relationships with food companies and the active promotion of integrated pest management (IPM) are important activities that support our corporate values. Young people are also interested in these issues and issues such as sustainability and climate change.”

Corteva’s identification of the needs of the future workplace puts them in an optimum position to be an employer of choice for the students they are currently reaching in schools. And what example would Rob give them of a cool career?

“The future challenges for agriculture are both daunting and exciting at the same time, with a singular focus on the global need to grow more food with less; less labour, less water, less land and less impact. Developing and utilising automated technology is a great example of this– anything from driverless vehicles, sprayers and harvesters to specialised drones and satellites. Automation using cutting edge technology is going to be a huge global market that will help solve significant labour shortage issues in all countries.”

And how did Rob find his way into a career in agriculture?

Rob readily admits to having no affiliation or connection with agriculture during his childhood years. In fact, he wanted to be a veterinarian.

“I didn’t get the HSC marks to directly enter vet science, so the only other pathway was through agricultural science at Sydney University. Once I entered this stream, I found I really enjoyed it and stayed with a focus on agronomy.”

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn

* The Crafting Careers series is an initiative of the Youth Voices Leadership Team (YVLT) and their commitment to

  • expose young people as early as possible to jobs in agriculture whilst they are at school
  • ensure there are multiple touch points to agriculture along their school journey
  • equip students and job seekers with navigation resources into agricultural career pathways and jobs
  • ensure industry routinely assesses its skills and credential requirements
  • inspire the agriculture sector to take a whole of supply chain approach to being the image we want the world to see
by Lynne Strong

Emma Ayliffe says there is an urgent need for industry to take a whole of farm approach to careers in agriculture.

We are very excited to be launching our Crafting Career series which is a culmination of a number of interviews with thought leaders in the agriculture and education sectors that call for the agriculture sector to move from awareness to action to ensure we are workforce ready now and in the future

The Crafting Careers series is an initiative of the Youth Voices Leadership Team (YVLT) and their commitment to

  • expose young people as early as possible to jobs in agriculture whilst they are at school
  • ensure there are multiple touch points to agriculture along their school journey
  • equip students and job seekers with navigation resources into agricultural career pathways and jobs
  • ensure industry routinely assesses its skills and credential requirements
  • inspire the agriculture sector to take a whole of supply chain approach to being the image we want the world to see

The series begins with an opinion piece by the 2020 Chair of the YVLT Emma Ayliffe which appeared in print and online media this week and is reprinted below

Over the next six weeks Rob Kaan MD of Corteva, Dr Neil Moss from SBScibus, Craig French from Australian Wool Innovation, Tony Mahar(National Farmers Federation) Lesley Leyland (Austral Fisheries)  Professor Jim Pratley and Scott Graham from Barker College will share their vision for a thriving agriculture sector that has a human centred design approach

“We are all only as good as the people we surround ourselves with”

Emma Ayliffe (right) with Summit Ag director Heath McWhirter and consultants Ben, Chelsea and Sam.

Opinion

As an agronomist, farmer, business owner and Young Farming Champion sharing my career journey in schools I know agriculture is providing me with an amazing career.

 

I work in agriculture. One day I might be out in the field advising a cotton grower about how to control whitefly, another day I will be managing my business, Summit Ag Agricultural Consulting, where we have six team members. I’m also a farmer producing wool, first cross lambs and growing wheat, oats, barley and canola. As a Young Farming Champion, I share my agricultural experiences with school kids in the city and the country.

 

I am continually discovering that many students are interested and passionate about agriculture, but they don’t know the breadth and depth of opportunities.

 

Yet we hear every day about on-farm staff shortages, and the consequences of this for increasing food prices. As people involved in agriculture, we need to become far more proactive and strategic in the way we promote agriculture as a career of first choice.

 

The statistics are in our favour. Research tells us there are six jobs for every graduate from an agriculture-related degree. For those not looking for an on-farm job,  82% of those jobs are beyond the farm gate and 40% are in cities. In the next ten years there will be a 15% growth in scientific, research and information technology jobs which support the production of food and fibre. There is also expected to be a 10% increase in jobs behind the farm gate and a 9% increase in jobs that provide agricultural education and training. Agriculture really has got it all.

Research also tells us that young people going from primary to secondary schools have closed their minds to 70% of the careers that are available. We also know 46% of Australians have at least one parent who wasn’t born here.

 

Reaching the hearts and minds of the next generation of agriculturists requires us to reach the hearts and minds of their parents. This starts in our schools. Going into schools and speaking with students, as I do with my role as a Young Farming Champion, means the potential future workforce can see what a career in agriculture looks like. It gives them role models and expands their view of agriculture behind and beyond the farm gate.

 

But if we are going to have real impact promoting agriculture to the next generation, we must move beyond sharing statistics and become specific. We must be able to show future employees (and their parents) what the jobs are and where they are.

 

This means our industry bodies need to provide clarity about predicting and planning for our future workforce needs. If we are to evolve and keep pace with our changing world and respond quickly and positively to unexpected events, we must have strategies for recruiting, training and developing capability, and mobility.

 

Students need to understand that a dairy herd manager can earn $150,000 a year and work internationally. They need to know  that you don’t need the HSC or tertiary education qualifications to earn $2000 for a four-day week as a shearer. Students need to be aware of the career opportunities available – from  modifying cutting edge technology to produce automated vehicles for the cropping industry to contributing to healthy oceans through working within aquaculture.

 

Then students can go home and influence the views of their parents and their communities – our consumers.

 

We also need industry to step up and provide an attractive workplace for future employees; workplaces that embrace diversity and gender balance, workplaces that offer flexible ways of doing business and workplaces that use high-end technology.

 

We need to showcase agriculture as providing food and fibre as well as delivering on strong consumer-driven ethics around issues such as climate change and sustainability.

 

To ensure agriculture attracts the best and brightest employees of the future we need to start now. We must identify skills gaps, conduct workplace forecasting, invest in our young leaders, promote positive stories, and listen to the consumer who is often the parent of tomorrow’s agriculturist.

 

I have an extraordinary career in agriculture. I want others to know they can too.

Seen first at Grain Central  

 

by Lynne Strong

The Archies and Kreative Koalas make television debut

The House of Wellness program on Channel 7 recently featured some extra special guests – students from St Catherine’s College at Singleton and their  Archies and Kreative Koalas!

The House of Wellness explores “the world of health and wellbeing, addressing your health concerns in an entertaining and informative format. From raising your kids, to staying fit, ageing gracefully, and keeping beautiful inside and out, as well as the A to Z of every vitamin under the sun, The House of Wellness is designed with one thing in mind – to help you ‘Live Well’.”

In his introduction to the November 2 episode, Luke Darcy linked wellness to the environment.

“2020 has made us re-think pretty much everything about the way we live from what we consume, our relationships with each other and the environment and the impact we have on the planet,”

Luke’s astute reflection is a mantra long held by the Archies and Kreative Koalas.

After a brief chat about The Archibald Prize Luke, and co-host Jo Stanley, segued expertly to The Archibull Prize and featured Lynne Strong talking about her vision for climate positive agriculture before segueing again to Lynne’s driving passion – Picture You in Agriculture.

Then it was into the classroom to showcase the Archies and Kreative Koalas in action, including asking the students how these programs have changed their perception of agriculture and the environment.

“I didn’t grow up on a farm but this has definitely made it a lot more fun,” said  Archies participant Phoebe .

“Its pretty exciting” declared Jessica

“For the forehead we are planning to put an earth with a lot of trees and bushes around the outside. So that’s saying that our planet grows a lot of plants and those plants are vital,” said Jacob.

The segment concluded with a plug for careers in agriculture.

“We have some of the best ag science and agronomy courses in the world right here and by 2030 it is estimated there will be around 48,000 new jobs in the rural sector, which is fantastic. It’s a great field to steer our kids towards,” Luke said.

“And it is girls who are leading the charge

They make up more than 56% of students studying agriculture and related courses.” Jo continued.

PYiA is committed to engaging students, young agriculturalists and future consumers in conversations about their vision for the future of food and farming and their role in it. Thanks to The House of Wellness that vision has reached yet another audience.

Watch the Archies and Kreative Koalas on The House of Wellness

Mega shout out to the students and teachers at St Catherine’s and the team at the House of Wellness who all did a superstar job of showing how exciting agriculture can be

 

 

 

by Lynne Strong

Growing Young Leaders meet Calum Watt a crop breeder for the future

In partnership with Corteva Agriscience we invited emerging leaders in the agriculture sector to share with us what drives them. We also asked them to tells us if they had a magic wand what would they change in the agriculture sector.

Today’s guest blog comes from PhD candidate and crop breeder Calum Watt

“ I get a lot of excitement from being involved in an industry that is everyday looking for ways to produce more, from less, in the most sustainable way possible. No day is same. There is never a dull moment on my career path.”

Calum shares with us:

  • Careers in agriculture extend beyond the farm gate. “Farmers” can be scientists
  • Crop scientists can improve the productivity, profitability, resilience and sustainability of Australia’s crops
  • Communication is critical to connecting science to the paddock

This is Calum’s story

Warming to the idea that a career in agriculture could or would be for me was somewhat of a slow burn at first.

This is a bit unusual given as I grew up surrounded by agriculture in a rural dairy community in the south of Western Australia. Whilst I loved the lifestyle, I never really considered agriculture from a career perspective because everyone involved in agriculture are farmers, aren’t they?

Or at least that is what I originally thought back in my wild youth. My lightbulb moment came one year into a botany degree that agriculture was where I was wanted to be and my role as an agricultural scientist, more precisely a crop breeder would see me join the 82% of careers in agriculture that support farmers to produce food

.At university I developed a keen interest in genetics and whilst I had always had a passion agriculture and plants I had no idea that there was a career that could marry them all together. This is when I discovered the important role of a crop breeder. An ability to recombine genes to improve the resilience, sustainability and productivity of crop production is something so satisfying; something so simple yet something so critically important to improving our local and global food security. The late Norman Borlaug, an inspiration of mine, stove off global food insecurity by manipulating only a handful of genes through breeding, effectively doubling global crop production in what is known as the Green Revolution.

Gene-editing, has the potential to address the concerns consumers care about most: nutritional health, climate change, food waste and the need for more natural production techniques.

Techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9, which cuts and ‘edits’ strands of DNA, may enable farmers to reduce their use of pesticides, while boosting the resilience of crops to fungi, extreme weather and enriching their nutrient content.

There set the stage for a further 8 years at university progressing me slowly, but surely towards a career as a crop breeder to play my role in supporting global food security and achieving  Global Goal 2 – Zero Hunger and Global Goal 12  Responsible Production and Global Goal 13 Climate Action    

Being a plant breeder allows me to combine my three main passions into one role where I can improve the productivity, profitability, climate resilience and sustainability of Australia’s crop production and help ensure everyone has access to safe, affordable, nutritious food as efficiently as possible. If we can manipulate one gene, improve disease resistance and reduce the need for fungicides this is a win for people and the planet.

I am so optimistic about the future of agriculture and my place within it . The recent awarding of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna  for the development of a method for genome editing  known as CRISPR-Cas9 is an exciting example of just one spanner in the toolbox which crop researchers and breeders can utilise to develop the climate resilient crops of the future.

My excitement at the level of science and technology I get to work with as a crop breeder inspires me to share my story and the research behind the work my fellow crop breeders do on podiums across the country.

I invite you to Join me in an industry that everyday is looking for ways to produce more, from less, in the most efficient, climate resilient way possible.

Calum has recently submitted his PhD and joined the crop breeding team at Intergrain

Listen to Calum share his story on the Generation Ag podcast here 

and read more in this recent Farm Weekly Young Guns article

Learn more about Calum’s work via his published journal articles

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.01273/full

https://www.publish.csiro.au/cp/CP20169

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00122-020-03579-z

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00122-018-3243-y

 

by Lynne Strong

Meet Alice Burwell who shares a passion to make a difference and fight for gender equity

In partnership with Corteva Agriscience we invited emerging leaders in the agriculture sector to share with us what drives them. We also asked them to tells us if they had a magic wand what would they change in the agriculture sector.

Our guest post today comes from vet in training Alice Burwell. Alice shares a passion to make a difference and fight for gender equity that has been a consistent theme in our 2020 stories

“Wow, you want to be a vet. You must really love animals”.

Yes, this is partly true. But this is only part of my story. I would always make it very clear that I wanted to be a preventive healthcare vet for large farm animals and help livestock farmers set up their businesses in a way that keeps animals healthy and prevent health problems in herds whenever anyone asked, even as a seven-year-old.

Yet as I grew up I found myself having to justify my potential value to the industry because I am a young female?

I  was determined to show female vets are just as enthusiastic about working outdoors with large animals as male vets.

Why should this matter?

If people work hard to gain knowledge they can contribute to industry, they deserve to be treated with respect for their knowledge and contributions regardless of their background, degree or gender.

What do the girls in the pink vests in this image have in common?

Passion is the common denominator, not gender here.  Yes, we are all female. Yes, we are all aspiring rural veterinarians. And the reason we were selected as the student delegates for the Australian Cattle Vets conference in 2020 is because of our burning passion for the livestock industry.

Veterinary science used to be a male dominated sector and I am proud to be part of the generation that is changing this.

Where did this burning passion for the livestock industries stem from? For me, it was the days I would spend growing up helping my father and grandfather in the lambing sheds or feeding calves like these ones

I have always been so determined to make my mark on the livestock industries as a professional and have always had an interest in the wider agricultural sector. The management from paddock to plate and from calf to cow is what excites me. I am becoming a veterinarian so that I can help improve the health, welfare and productivity of our livestock industries through producer education and adoption of new research, at herd levels.

Today veterinarians provide holistic farm services and have broad skills in farm consultancy and management as well as providing technical skills and advice on animal health and welfare.

As a vet I aspire to provide the farmers I work with exceptional value from improvements in animal health and management behind the farm gate as well as support them to optimise the value they get from their farming production systems.

The challenge of showing farmers my  worth is a both a daunting and  exhilarating task. I have studied veterinary science and participated in many extra-curricular activities so that I can play my part in making the agricultural industry sustainable for generations to come. There is nothing more exciting for me than helping producers turn calves into productive, healthy cows that are the building blocks for a producer’s successful business. Regardless of the species, it is the full circle of producing profitable, healthy beef/dairy cattle and sheep in a sustainable and welfare conscious manner that excites me.

As an industry we have many opportunities to showcase our industry is gender inclusive and ensure veterinarians are valued for the diverse skills and knowledge they bring to the farm team.

“As a rural vet you feel connected with the people you work with on farm and you are also an essential part of rural communities. Its a career where you have a strong sense of purpose and you get up everyday knowing you are making a difference”

by Lynne Strong

Meet Elizabeth Argue who at the age of ten was busy opening doors to a career in agriculture

In partnership with Corteva Agriscience we invited emerging leaders in the agriculture sector to share with us what drives them. We also asked them to tells us if they had a magic wand what would they change in the agriculture sector.

Our guest post today comes from Elizabeth Argue who at the age of ten was busy opening doors to a career in agriculture

It all started with a passion to be a 10 year old jillaroo and a letter

Elizabeth shares with us:

  • It’s never too early to chase an agricultural dream
  • People, and nurturing the potential of people, is the heart of agriculture
  • Strong rural women can play a pivotal role in agriculture
  • modern agriculture calls for a range of individuals with an ever increasing range of skills from all walks of life.

………….

When you think of a ten year old girl from a cattle property on the Mid North Coast of NSW. You probably picture a girl riding her horse having fun with the neighbours kids building cubby houses at the river. Although I did build my fair share of cubby houses, my ten year old self was pouring over the pages of The Land newspaper, looking over all the job vacancies on cattle stations. I had decided then that school could wait and making a living working the land on a station, most probably like McLeod’s daughters was for me…

Well I was passionate!

I soon found an ad that jumped out at me for the Acton Super Beef company. So I wrote a letter to the company explaining my passion and eagerly awaited a reply. To my and I think my parents surprise a few weeks later I received a reply from Ms Acton herself, kindly thanking me for my letter but explaining that life on a property can be tough, even for someone older than ten. She emphasised the importance of education and suggested I wait a few more years before heading out.

Fast forward to my graduation from high school, I wrote back to Ms Acton and a few months later found myself as a station hand in Central Queensland. Looking back I thank my ten year old self for opening the door that my eighteen year old self could walk through.

Ms Acton was one of the first strong rural women who played a pivotal role in my journey within agriculture. Broadening my horizons considerably and highlighting the significant contribution strong women make to the industry. I have since realised the immense potential that can arise from fostering relationships and opening doors for others, in particular younger generations. This has led me to appreciate that although there are some incredible innovations, technological advancements and pathways developing within the multifaceted agricultural industry – it is the people and fostering the potential of people that is at the heart of the industry.

The people I met while working on the station ranged from hard working station hands, governesses, animal nutritionists to analysists. The list is endless and that was just centred around one property. Since transitioning to study Agriculture and Business at the University of New England, joining various agricultural committees, traveling abroad and working overseas, my perception of agriculture has changed significantly.

From my naïve view as a ten year old romanticising spending days on a horse mustering cattle I have come to realise the agricultural sphere is so much more than this and growing every day. Although there will always be a call for those stockmen and women mustering cattle, modern agriculture also calls for a range of individuals with an ever increasing diverse range of skills from all walks of life.

It is my passion for people that is driving my vision for the future. I want a career where I can open young peoples eyes to the diversity of rewarding careers in the industry I love. I want to ignite a spark  in particular women from all backgrounds to discover their inherent calling in agriculture. There is a plethora of opportunities developing and I would love to be the one to open doors for others to these opportunities, just like Ms Acton and a letter opened for me.

#CareersinAgriculture #genderequity #inclusivity #WomeninAg

by Lynne Strong

NEWS FROM THE MOOS AND KREATIVE KOALA KIDS

The 2020 COVID  ready editions of The Archibull Prize and Kreative Koalas – Design a Bright Future are off and running in 34 schools from Tasmania to Queensland, and here is a wrap of their first few weeks in action.

As you can see the Moos are definitely in the News

In the media

Caragabal has received rain! This momentous occasion for students and families of Caragabal Public School in western NSW made ABC headlines. Kids spoke about the breaking of the drought and how sustainable practices are shaping their farming future.

Also talking to the ABC about Kreative Koalas was teacher Martha Atkins from Medowie Christian School in the Port Stephens region. The students also shared their journey to #ZeroHunger with the Port Stephens Examiner

Medowie took out the title of Grand Champion Community Project for Change in 2019, so this is definitely a school to watch out for.

The Port Stephen Koala Hospital will be opening on September 25, and radio station NEWFM radio, previewed the event, which guest stars the Grand Champion Koala artwork from Raymond Terrace Public School.

On our blog

Medowie also featured on our PYiA blog (we love to celebrate our schools and feature them regularly) discussing their goals for 2020 with zero hunger and cookbooks!

Meanwhile, James Erskine Public School reflected on what they had learnt from Kreative Koalas in 2019 and how it has affected their school twelve months down the track.

St Catherine’s Catholic College at Singleton told us how COVUD has had some positive changes, allowing teacher Joanna Towers extra time to study and to investigate the world of regenerative agriculture.

Innisfail State College, who is taking part in both the Archies and Kreative Koalas, is improving critical thinking through collaboration, connection and communication.

Carlingford West Public School met a special group of young women from our Young Farming Champions program who totally busted their stereotype of what a farmer looks like.

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Webinars and resources

Thank you to John Holloway from the Murray Darling Basin Authority Education Team for his very well received Deep Dive into Water webinars and the extremely engaged students who joined him. See the story here. John will be available to run more webinars for Stage 3, Stage 4 and Stage 5 after the holidays.

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Thanks also to our wonderful collaborator Kris Beazley from Richmond Agricultural College – Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Education who is running eight one-day Hack-a-thons, focussing on design thinking train the trainer workshops, for teachers participating in our programs.

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Following on from their Caragabal Public School story the ABC has created a teacher resource on the breaking of the drought.

Expressions of interest are now open for 2021

If you are a secondary school you can submit an EOI for The Archibull Prize HERE 

If you are a primary school you can submit an EOI for Kreative Koalas HERE 

Visit our website to find out more

Shout out to our supporting partners who are empowering young people to be critical and creative thinkers and changemakers ready for the jobs of the future.

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by Lynne Strong

How young people in rural Australia are coping with COVID19

Young Farming Champion Chloe Dutschke is a contract musterer. 

Our Young Farming Champions are seizing COVID19 opportunities to learn how to transform in a hibernating economy and are finding innovative ways to  re-align our relationships to one another, and to nature.

Young Farming Champion Chloe Dutschke is a contract musterer.  COVID19 has meant she currently bunkered down on a 280,000 acre merino station with 10 staff all isolated together in the Western Riverina NSW.

Working on a sheep station means Chloe role is an essential service. This is her story of how she has been coping with COVID-19 in the bush.

…….

In mid-march, before the pandemic really hit, my partner Joe and I moved from the Flinders Ranges SA to the Western Riverina NSW.

Who knew that only weeks later we would be faced with an ever growing global pandemic and a list of restrictions limiting us from heading back to SA any time soon. On arrival to the station we hit the ground running heading straight into mustering for shearing the following week.

Shearing is one of the highlights of working on merino properties. As musterers we bring the sheep into the shed, and take them away again and I love watching the shearers work and seeing fleeces fly. But this year that novelty was lost. With the restrictions that industry put on shearing teams, and the restrictions we imposed on station staff for safety, we were unable to mix with the shearing team or even enter the shed to watch our ewes being shorn. It was a somber reality.

Other than industry restrictions we felt the same pressures every household has faced with the dreaded toilet paper and essential food war. We worried for weeks where we would source enough toilet paper for an extra 25 shearing staff let alone food for the cook to feed the hungry workers. Added pressures included the continual fall in the wool market and the constant fear of shearing being cancelled. Although the virus has made shearing difficult it did not make it impossible. We worked within our restrictions to produce 500 bales of wool with no major dramas and we even received a bonus 40mm of rain.

Of the 10 station staff, four of us are new to the Riverina. We don’t know anyone in town and were really looking forward to being a part of a new community. In most country towns the best way to meet people is joining a sporting team or club but the virus this has completely cut us off. Our station staff have all together to make the best of the situation. Like many people we have got the board games and cards out and are hosting games night, and even hosted a pub night where we made schnitzels and chips and pretended they were just as good as a pub parmy.

The virus and moving to a new state meant that I could not go back to SA for Easter. Usually I would travel to see my family and we would spend Easter Sunday together; instead, this year my family had a zoom hookup and I spent two hours talking to my family from SA, NSW, NT and VIC. At the station we tried to make Easter Sunday special. We found a beautiful wooden table saved from the old shearers quarters in a falling down shed and restored it for the occasion, we cooked a roast lunch and played hours of trivia. As the afternoon drew on, 10 of us sat in the sunshine and toasted the end of shearing and to a prosperous year ahead.

Like many station workers, distance from the closest town makes it hard to attend a dawn service for Anzac Day and with the restrictions it meant it was impossible anyway. To show our respects we decided to host our own dawn service. We resurrected and restored the old flagpole and made wreaths and poppies to lay at the bottom.

We paid tribute to the people who served from the station in years gone by and we also remembered the family members of station staff by reading their names at the service. We listened to the last post echo through the trees and the birds sing during the minutes silence.

Although the COVID-19 virus has had a profound negative effect for many, I am thankful for the end of a stressful shearing and for the moments I have shared with my new station family over Easter and Anzac Day. We have found positives in this ever-changing world, and for that I am grateful.

COVID19 has given us all a chance to reflect on what matter most. It’s been a wonderful reminder of  the importance of taking care of yourself and those around you – in your community, your family, your workplace.

Some wise tips for Coping with Covid from the experts

  1. Coping during Corononavirus
  2. This Way Up Online Tools 

This story first appeared on Australian Farmer here