Why is agriculture a good career choice for a young person?

By Food + Fibre Great South Coast Executive Officer Tony Ford

When I grew up on the family farm I had no doubt I loved agriculture. It was an easy progression
to then move into farming myself. But at that point I never expected the diverse wealth of career
opportunities agriculture would throw my way.

Being raised on a farm and then farming in my own right, I decided I wanted to work in
agriculture but more behind the scenes then at the farmgate. So for me I looked at the
alternatives. What were my strengths? What could I deliver?

What resulted has been a career in food production and food manufacturing that has spanned
35 years in Australian and international agribusiness. Twenty-five years of these have been
at a senior executive level and on the boards of food manufacturing, horticultural and other
institutions throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

I guess the moral to the story is that there are so many opportunities in agriculture, there is no
need to pigeonhole yourself into a certain agricultural position if you don’t want or need to.
That’s why the Great South Coast Food + Fibre Council has started this campaign, to highlight
the diverse range of opportunities available in agriculture. From agribusiness banking to export
sales of Australian agricultural product, job perspectives are endless.

Food and fibre underpins about 60 per cent of the Great South Coast’s economy and accounts
for more than 21 per cent of the region’s workforce. This campaign is designed to change public
perception around farming – it is a vibrant and dynamic equal opportunity sector.

There are so many opportunities and so many new technologies coming through. Enjoy this
re-imaging campaign and the stories of our ambassadors, they are a fantastic snapshot into the
diversity of the region and the jobs that exist.