Careers in Agriculture Presenter: Associate Professor Jason White
Agriculture Professionals Agricultural professionals are essential to help humanity achieve and sustain such an enormous harvest in a changing climate, from on the farm to around the globe.
Agriculture degrees cover a wide range of disciplines including biology, chemistry and environmental studies but also touch on management, economics and food science enabling you to cultivate an interesting and rewarding career.
The numbers 2009 graduates, 60.9% went straight into employment 1 in 5 of those choosing the commercial/industrial sector often going on to careers in farm management 15.7% moving into other professional or technical occupations Each year there are only 800 agricultural scientists and other graduate professionals from universities but employers demand more than 6,000* * Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture, Pratley and Hay 2010, The job market in Australia
Where to they end up? About 1/3 of jobs in metro areas About 1/3 in large regional cities eg Geelong Bendigo Ballarat Albury/Wodonga etc About 1/3 rural/regional.
Exciting careers in Agriculture Production animal health Animal health officer, agricultural/ farm consultant, animal/veterinary pharmaceutical sales, animal welfare officer, feedlot manager, advisor for animal feed companies, quality assurance, quarantine officer, extension officer and artificial breeding technicians. Soil and water conservation Forest officer, soil technician, research officer, environmentalist, salinity project officer and catchment manager. Biotechnology and genetics Biochemist, food and wine scientist, laboratory technician, research and development, sales and marketing, media, journalist, events officer. Agribusiness Rural finance, agribusiness consultant, farm advisor. Resource economics and international trade Commodity trader, economic advisor. Policy, aid and development Within State and Federal Government departments.
External Review: GHD consultants an independent, external assessment of required future Day One Graduate Attributes of the Bachelor of Agriculture degree. The purpose of the project is to inform subsequent development of the curriculum for the degree. The review developed a Discussion Paper for use as a resource for consultation and then consultation was completed with 20 employers of agricultural graduates and 72 previous agriculture graduates of the University of Melbourne.
External Review: Outcomes provided a contemporary view of changes occurring in agriculture and the impact this was having on attributes of graduates they recruited. They noted the: decreasing role of governments increasing emphasis on supply chain management, including product specification at the farm level and marketing of products beyond the farm gate. Community expectations concerning production systems (e.g. animal welfare, environmental sustainability) are also becoming an expectation within standard operating procedures.
External Review: Outcomes As a result, employers increasingly require graduates to have better developed soft skills combined with a sound grounding in the fundamentals of agricultural science underpinning the production system. Aligned to this is the need for graduates to understand farming systems (including knowledge of the practical tasks and challenges faced by producers) and have an ability to problem solve within a farming systems perspective.
Graduate Outcomes Graduates of the Bachelor of Agriculture at the UoM will be: scientists equipped with the knowledge and skills to contribute to the agricultural sector and the profession of agricultural science as soil scientists, agronomists and plant scientists, animal scientists, agricultural economists or social scientists confident in their ability to solve problems, create new knowledge, and apply knowledge and skills to create solutions flexible and energetic team players who can communicate effectively with a wide range of stake holders aware of their role as leaders locally, nationally and globally in ensuring sustainable agricultural production outcomes
Identifying a Role for Dookie
Rationale for enhanced use of Dookie in teaching of the the Bachelor of Ag <Competitive advantage> of experiential learning in a farming context, close to so many rural enterprises, <Enhanced career readiness> of immersive Dookie experience for a cohort of our students, and improved already strong employment prospects <Build critical mass at Dookie> through increased student load providing a sustainable work environment for academic staff at Dookie- reducing current movement of academic staff from Dookie to Melbourne during the teaching weeks and increasing productivity. <Key stakeholders> would regard very favourably a restored teaching program at Dookie
What s new about the New B Ag and why? New ways of learning engaging with the B Ag curriculum is as much about exploring ways of thinking, ways of behaving and ways of knowing like a agricultural scientist as it is about the knowledge base of agricultural science per se After our students graduate they will be judged less by what they know and more by how they act Team work, leadership and communications skills are critical success factors in the workplace and can be developed through opportunities to practice them Weekly workshop sessions conducted in small groups, provide discussion opportunities and reinforce learning Field trips each semester, demonstrate theory in action