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From his surfboard, Luke Hall often used to watch the sun rise while floating past the breakers at Long Reef on the northern beaches of Sydney. Now, 400 kilometres away in western NSW, he watches the day break over 1200 cows from inside a milking shed.
The 18-year-old is one of almost 200 school-leavers to have signed up for a paid gap year with farmers willing to train them, to help address the agricultural skills shortage.
Luke Hall was matched with a dairy business in Dubbo, where milking starts at 3am.Credit: Clancy Paine
Hall said he wasn’t sure what to do when he finished year 12, then a friend told him about the AgCAREERSTART program, which is jointly funded by the federal government and the National Farmers’ Federation. His parents, both office workers, supported his decision to try farming and he was matched with a dairy business outside Dubbo, where milking starts at 3am.
“It’s definitely different to what I expected,” Hall said. “There is a lot more behind-the-scenes, working on herd health and nutrition for cows … it’s a lot more intense.”
He said the 12-month experience had helped him learn how to work with livestock and how to solve problems on his own. He is yet to decide where he will go next.
“People were thinking ‘oh God, he’s not going to last’, but I’ve proved [them] wrong a little bit,” he said.
Luke Hall (right) with friend Will Corcoran at Point Plomer on NSW’s North Coast.Credit:
“I might come back home, start a trade and then end up going back into the country. Even if I do that, I don’t think it’ll be the end of me doing something in agriculture.”
National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said the two-year-old program was helping address the industry’s skills shortage by exposing young Australians to jobs in agriculture and raising awareness of the possibilities across the country.
“It’s filling in a small way some of the labour shortages but … these people [also] become advocates for the sector, for the great experiences they have had.”
Mahar said the sector had tens of thousands of jobs to fill and the program, open to those aged 17 to 25, put agriculture on the radar of school-leavers. He wants the federal government to extend the program, which is due to end next year, and said it could also be expanded to allow for more participants and employers, including those off-farm.
Hall assists in the maintenance of milk meter technology at the dairy.Credit: Clancy Paine
The federation had also taken steps to ensure those taking part were safe and not exploited – problems which have plagued the backpacker working holiday visa scheme.
“The staff we’ve got working in here … they’re like parents – they look after the kids,” Mahar said.
“We give [participants] training and education, and there’s a whole team that looks after [them].
Registered Holsteins at the Chesworth Dairy Partnership farm on the Macquarie River, west of Dubbo in central NSW. Credit: Clancy Paine
“If you’re a parent, sending your kid to north-west or Western Australia, you want to know they are being looked after and having a good experience – that they’re safe – and that’s at the forefront of our mind when administering this program.”
Dairy farmer Erika Chesworth said she had agreed to host Hall because she believed employers needed to invest in training people if the industry was to solve the skills crisis.
“Backpackers are not a solution,” she said. “They’re a Band-Aid that became a solution and it’s not at all sustainable. They’re great … but their commitment is not to a long-term career.
“[Luke] will be a part of our life going forward. Even if he doesn’t stay, we look forward to catching up with him at the Sydney [Royal Easter] Show, and there is that lovely relationship we’ve built with his mum and dad. It’s been a beautiful experience.”
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt was contacted for comment.
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