Graduate Opportunities

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Agriculture in Australia is a major contributor to the national economy.

Its 126,000 full-time farmers annually produce $137 billion worth of product, 12 per cent of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product. Australian agriculture exports approximately $30 billion worth of product annually and provides 93 per cent of the nation’s domestic food supply.

Agriculture and its related industries support 1.6 million Australian jobs. About 50 per cent of these are in capital cities flow-on industries such as processing, packaging, transport and retailing.

Efficiency gains through new technologies and farm management practices have enabled Australian agriculture to stay a step ahead of international competitors.

Annual productivity growth in agriculture has been 2.8 per cent over the past 30 years – far greater than any other Australian industry sector. This is in large part driven by research and development on which we spend about $500 million annually.

Outlook

The outlook for agriculture in Australia is bright. World food security is a big challenge and Australia is positioned to play an increasing role.

Our agriculture faces real challenges in adjusting productivity to meet climate change and environmental agendas, in meeting the cost/price squeeze from changing world markets, and in maintaining the service and social fabric of our rural areas.

Meeting these challenges requires a continuing flow of knowledge and expertise across all sectors of the industry.

It is estimated that Australia will need 2,000 Agriculture graduates annually to continue to drive agriculture forward. For information on careers in agriculture please contact the AIAST (www.aiast.com.au).

Employment opportunities

• Production: Employment can be directly on farms or in agribusinesses which service those farms. These include farm consultants, agribusiness, commodity market services and financial/banking advice.
• Research, Development and Extension: Much of Australia’s productivity is driven by research and development. The broad range includes plant and animal breeding; pest, weed and disease management; nutrition; farm systems; and farm business economics.
• Natural Resource Management: Farmers are our frontline environmentalists and spend around $3 billion annually on managing pests and weeds, soil, natural vegetation and water.
• Food Services: Farm production is only the beginning, with most commodities needing to be marketed, processed, packaged, transported and sold.
• Education and Training: Knowledge and skills development is at the core of agriculture’s success, through schools, universities and adult education.
• Policy: People with agricultural knowledge are sought in the public and private sectors for policy formulation and management. This can include trade policy, biosecurity, industry policy and commercial advice to companies engaged in agriculture.

Money matters: graduate salary ranges for selected relevant occupations

• Agricultural Consultant: $40,000-$49,000
• Agricultural Scientist: $42,000-$47,100
• Crop Farmer: $44,500-$68,000
• Livestock Farm Worker: $25,000-$45,000

-- Figures from the Australian Graduate Survey 2008, GCA. Ranges refer to the middle 50 per cent of salaries for bachelor degree graduates with permanent residency, in full-time employment in Australia Oct 07-Apr 08.