A SHORTAGE of agriculture science graduates is stifling productivity. Looking at starting salaries is a step in the right direction, PETER HUNT reports
Australia's agriculture universities and colleges are turning out just 800 students a year for a job market demanding 6000.
That's the finding of an Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture assessment of 50,600 on-farm and agribusiness job advertisements, from January 2007 to December 2009.
About 4200 of the graduate positions are in agribusiness, with another 1800 in on-farm production jobs.
"The data overall shows that the opportunities for a career in agriculture are strong, both in agribusiness and in production and are substantially in excess of most workforce projections," the study found.
But a Graduate Careers Australia surveys show the failure to attract school-leavers to agriculture courses may have more to do with the negative image of farming and poor remuneration by agribusiness.
The 2009 survey shows agriculture graduates were ranked 15th to 17th out of 23 courses in a survey of starting salaries. Agriculture graduates earned an average of less than $45,000 last year, a large chunk of which went to paying off their $25,000 to $30,000 university HECS debt.
In contrast, 2009 earth sciences (geology) graduates earned $57,000 in their first year out of university, with most almost doubling their salaries within four years.
Students graduating as social workers earn almost $50,000 in their first year, also more than agriculture graduates.
Deans Council president Rick Roush said enrolments from students intending to graduate as agricultural scientists had fallen again this year, despite strong demand for graduates. Prof Roush said it was time for the agribusiness sector to start paying agriculture graduates decent salaries, rather than griping about the dearth of candidates.
"They can't rely on skilled migrants or people who are not trained (in agriculture) from other disciplines such as environmental and other sciences," Prof Roush said.
"It's a penny-wise pound-poor policy. You may get people cheap, but have to spend far more (training them) on the job."
A spokesman for the Rimfire Resources agribusiness employment agency confirmed the agriculture graduate shortage had resulted in some companies using environmental science and other graduates to fill agribusiness positions.
Prof Roush said Australian Agriculture had to invest more in its graduates: "If Australian agriculture is to make 1-2 per cent productivity growth, then we have to make agriculture an attractive career path."
