The tides of agricultural production have changed considerably in the past 15 years with modern technology restructuring the rule book for the everyday farmer.
Cotton and grains grower Adam McVeigh, Dalby, said he believes the opportunities for the next generation of farmers make agriculture an exciting prospect.
Mr McVeigh lives in Dalby but is able to manage overhead irrigation and centre pivots at Maclee, Dalby, and Mondure Homestead, Murgon, from his smart phone.
“Opportunities to buy neighbouring farms are limited so expansion is sought further afield and managed from offsite,” he said.
Mr McVeigh said the assistance available to farmers nowadays has made a career in farming more attainable.
“It is now common practice to invest in professional agronomists and modern technology to help make decisions along with high capacity machinery to get the job done,” he said.
Mr McVeigh said the challenge to young people entering agriculture was to harness the technology available and turn it into productivity via such things as cash flow management and forward planning.
A Nuffield scholar, Mr McVeigh acknowledged the benefits of modern technology are incapable of preventing extreme weather conditions and said financial resilience and preparedness were crucial.
“It’s about managing the good years wisely so when the tough years roll around your business will survive to plant another crop,” he said.
Minister for agriculture and water resources Barnaby Joyce said job opportunities in agriculture were vast.
“The December 2015 release of the ABARES Agricultural Commodities report forecast the gross value of farm production in Australia would increase by 8 per cent in 2015–16 to around $57.6 billion,” he said.
Mr McVeigh said challenges such as financial pressure and weather conditions should not deter young farmers.
“We need to shine a positive light on agriculture because farming is certainly a profitable option in the long term and the ups and downs that go with it are true for any business.”
