Trainees recently completed a QFF hosted two-week cross industry bus trip as part of the Agricultural Extension Work Placement Program (AEWPP).
The AEWPP program places early career extension officers (trainees) with host agribusinesses or natural resource management organisations to assist landholders in the Great Barrier Reef catchments to implement best management practices.
The trainees have worked for the past nine months in their host organisations including Aglantis, AgriTech Solutions, Australian Banana Growers Council, Burdekin Productivity Services, Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) and NQ Dry Tropics.
The bus trip, which started with a midterm program evaluation workshop in Bagara, was facilitated by Jeanette Long from Ag Consulting Co, and provided each trainee, mentor, and host organisation the opportunity to celebrate the program and provide valuable feedback on ways to improve the AEWPP for future cohorts.
The following day, trainees then participated in a Cultural Awareness Course facilitated by two BMRG staff, Conway Burns a Midira Scientist, and BMRG CEO, Tom Espinoza.
Then the two-week cross-industry bus trip commenced where each trainee facilitated and showcased their organisation, farming commodity of focus and region to other trainees and the QFF team.
The bus trip enabled the trainees to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s work and developed new contacts across Queensland’s agriculture and natural resource management sectors. Past program participants from NQ Dry Tropics and Australia Banana Growers Council also joined in some activities.
In addition to the stops at the farms that the trainees had worked with throughout the program, there were also stops at associated industry organisations such as the TAFE Queensland’s Aquaculture and Agriculture Centre’s of Excellence, Sugar Research Australia, Tassal’s Proserpine Prawn Farm, Kalamia Sugar Mill, and the Department of Primary Industry’s South Johnstone Research Facility.
There was also time to visit several tourist attractions along the way, such as, Tinaberries, Bundaberg Rum Distillery, Macadamias Australia, Airlie Beach, The Big Mango and Big Crystal Creek.
QFF’s Program Coordinator for the AEWPP Tim Bradley described the bus trip as a dynamic experience for trainees to showcase the projects and initiatives they have been working on over the past nine months within their host organisation.
“The trip allowed each trainee to highlight their contributions to the agriculture sector, their collaboration with local producers, and the unique attributes of their region, their host organisation, and the commodity which their efforts positively impacted most.”
“One of the most valuable aspects of the bus trip is its ability to foster rich networking opportunities for trainees and industry professionals. By bringing together a diverse group of participants, the trip enables trainees to connect with other stakeholders and organisations they might not have encountered otherwise. These interactions often lead to the exchange of innovative ideas, the exploration of new partnerships, and a broader understanding of the industry as a whole,” Tim said.
The AEWPP has been running since 2018, with over 30 extension officers having graduated from the program to date.
The next cohort of the program will begin in February 2025 for a 15-month placement period.
The AEWPP is funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program (QRWQP) and delivered by the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) in partnership with the host organisations.