Fears for agricultural gap year program as funding deadline draws nearer
Jesse Wallace is guiding 500 dairy cows up the muddy path to the dairy shed for their afternoon milking.
The 18-year-old does it with ease, noting which cows are usual suspects for lingering at the back.
However, six months ago this was a daunting task.
"It was in the middle of summer, and they all get in the river and you have to get knee deep to get them out," he said.
"And you're worried about all the gates being shut."
Mr Wallace finished high school last year in Brisbane, and is now working on a dairy farm for his gap year.
He is a participant in the AgCAREERSTART program, run by the National Farmers' Federation.
"There's not a lot of dairy opportunities in Queensland, because the weather is so hot, and I thought this would be a good area to get started in," Mr Wallace said.
"It's cold [in Victoria] — but I'm warming up and getting used to it.
Waiting at the dairy ready to start attaching the cups to the udders, is Ruby Spicer, 18, who originally hails from Canberra.
Also in her gap year, she said she had no prior experience with farming and no connections in the industry.
"I like working outdoors and thought it would be a good opportunity to have a gap year," Ms Spicer said.
"Everyone is very patient with teaching you — you don't feel stupid for not knowing things.
"It is a lot of early mornings, but you get used to it — if you start at 3am, then you're usually done by 10am."
Ms Spicer said she would like to stay working on a farm next year if there was a position for her.
"I probably wouldn't have gone into agriculture without this program," she said.
"This is a good experience and you get to decide if this is a job for you."
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says the average age of an Australian farmer is 58, which is a decade older than the rest of the general workforce.
And attracting young people to work in the agriculture industry has been a challenge across a range of sectors.
The AgCAREERSTART program is currently in its fourth year and has placed 250 students aged 17–25 onto working farms to support farmers facing workforce shortages.
Participants get paid to work, and also receive a $4,500 training bursary.
Over the past four years, 85 per cent of participants kept working in the agriculture industry with 43 per cent finding ongoing work on the same farm.
One of those alumni is Hannah Dunn, 19, who is into her second year working on the dairy farm with Mr Wallace and Ms Spicer.
"I love to work with animals and I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Animal Science," Ms Dunn said.
"I'd tell people to do it — it's a great way to get practical experience that employers are looking for.
"And it's a paid gap year, like, why not try it out?"
The AgCAREERSTART program is funded by the federal government until 2026, currently allowing for one more intake.
The ABC has contacted the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to ask if funding will be guaranteed beyond 2026.
Richard Hamilton is the manager of the dairy farm in Tallangatta South which employs the three young workers.
He said it would be a shame to lose a program that worked so well to solve worker shortages in the industry.
"These three can run an 800 cow day-to-day operation without assistance," Mr Hamilton said.
"If they stay in dairy is irrelevant.
"If they can take some good practices from us and go on and develop, it's got to be good for Australian agriculture as a whole.
"It's a bigger picture than us; if they give us a good couple of years on their way and go on and do incredible things then it's a tick in the box from my point of view."
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