Prospective employers in the agriculture sector will have a rare opportunity to hear about the research of some of the brightest young university graduates from agriculture and natural resource management-related courses in WA.
The graduates will present their research at the annual Young Professionals in Agriculture awards hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Food and Ag Institute Australia (WA Division) on Wednesday 26 March.
Department of Agriculture and Food grains industry executive director Mark Sweetingham said the event provided an opportunity for the graduate students to promote their research and skills to prospective employers and network with future colleagues.
Finalists must submit a research paper and deliver a presentation.
“The diverse research topics to be presented by the outstanding finalists reflect a high standard of young professionals entering the agriculture and natural resources sectors,” Dr Sweetingham said.
“Research subjects include identifying farmers’ willingness to take up carbon farming; factors that increase the incidence of dark, firm and dry beef carcasses in Australia; attitudes to livestock welfare in WA; and diel nitrogen fixation in the Eastern Indian Ocean,” he said.
“Stubble retention and the impact on soil water repellence in sandy soils; and monitoring hydration status in wheat continuously and in real-time using novel magnetic probes will also be presented.”
Participating students represent the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University.
Their presentations will be judged by experienced agricultural researchers, including Dr Bruce Mullan, director Livestock Industries Innovation, DAFWA; Dr Sarita Bennett, senior lecturer Department of Environment and Agriculture Curtin University; and Dr Keith Croker, fellow of the Australian Institute of Agriculture.
The winner will represent Western Australia in the national forum later in the year.
Dr Sweetingham said the agriculture and food and natural resource management sectors in WA provide exciting and diverse career opportunities for accomplished graduates, and opportunities are expected to increase with the growing global demand for food.
The Young Professionals in Agriculture awards will be held at 10am on Wednesday 26 March in the auditorium of the CSIRO Centre for Environment and Life Sciences in Floreat.
To register to attend, email Joe Steer at 20252861@student.uwa.edu.au by 14 March.
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