La Trobe academic says ag research industry needs more young people

THE agricultural research industry offers healthy career prospects and is in need of young blood, says La Trobe University’s James Hunt.

Dr James Hunt is the co-ordinator of La Trobe’s Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences degree. Picture: Lauren Celenza

THE agricultural research industry is in need of young blood, according to La Trobe University’s Dr James Hunt.

“There are big challenges ahead,” said the co-ordinator of La Trobe’s Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences degree, adding food security was a major issue that called for more research scientists.

“We will need bright young things to come into the research field,” he said. “Ag fell into decline for many years from the 1990s.

“You have farmers who age and keep working, and that is what has happened in the agricultural research field as well, because funding has declined and there hasn’t been any recruitment of young researchers for a long while. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

La Trobe recently revamped its ag science degree and opened a new AgriBio research centre at Bundoora, making the university an attractive option for budding agriculture scientists, such as Amabel Grinter.

The 21-year-old, from a Cobram dairy farm in Victoria’s north, graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree this year.

She is planning a career as a nutritionist in the dairy industry and said her VCE mathematics and biology courses had prepared her well for university.

“I wished I had done chemistry too; that would have been helpful,” Amabel said.

As part of the degree, Amabel completed 12 weeks of work experience in Australia and Nepal.

“I am going to take this year to learn best practice on farms worldwide so when I get into a role I do have that knowledge,” she said. “There are a lot of jobs in agronomy out there. But in the nutrition roles there seems to be a lot more competition.”

According to La Trobe, Amabel is one of about 300 students across Australia who will graduate with agricultural science degrees this year.

Dr Hunt said feedback from graduates was that there were plenty of jobs available.

“Graduates that we have contact with seem to have no problem getting jobs,” he said. “The university surveys our own students within one year of graduation and within the past year, 100 per cent of Bachelor of Agricultural Science graduates who completed a survey had jobs.

“That stands in contrast to other science degrees.”

As part of the degree revamp, La Trobe is introducing a field crop agronomy subject next year to give students more applied skills.