Young farmers advisory council

Title: AGRICULTURE VICTORIA - The journey so far - Working with government to support young farmers

Vision: Aerial view of sunrise over farmland

Caitlin Scholfield — Chair, Business Manager, Geoffery Gardiner Dairy Foundation:

'My name is Caitlin Scholfield and I'm the Chair of the Young Farmer Ministerial Advisory Council.'

Vision: Farmhouse — aerial view of sheep grazing

'And here we are in my woolshed of my family farm near Dunkeld in south-west Victoria. So we're a small sheep grazing property.'

Vision: Caitlin speaking:

'The Young Farmer Ministerial Advisory Council was an election promise of the current Labor Government.'

Vision: Council members

'And the council is made up of 11 passionate young people from around Victoria.'

Vision: Caitlin speaking — grading wool — inspection lettuce:

'It's really exciting to be involved in such a collaborative group of young people in agriculture.'

Vision: Sunrise and farmer in paddock with his dogs — cattle in mil shed — Council members at meeting — Caitlin speaking — Caitlin driving vehicle — sheep grazing — Caitlin discussing farm

'We represent different industries, different regions, different experiences and come together once every six months to build some recommendations that we can present to the minister later this year in 2017, that we hope will provide opportunities and actions for this government to consider in support of young farmers and young people in regional areas around Victoria.'

Vision: Caitlin speaking — Jaala Pulford:

'So back in February 2015 we sat down with the Agriculture Minister, Jaala Pulford, and she directed us to come up with two priority areas impacting young people in rural and regional Victoria.'

Vision: Caitlin speaking:

'We went away and came up with two priority areas, one social and one economic.'

'And those priority areas are upskilling young farmers in business management; and the second priority, which is the social priority, is around networking and connecting young people in a social capacity in rural areas.'

Sarah Thompson — Engagement and Workforce Development Officer, Murray Dairy, Shepparton:

'So my name is Sarah Thompson and I'm a Young Farmer Ministerial Advisory Council member.

I live in Shepparton and I grew up here.'

Vision: Cattle — milking shed

'The Young Farmer MAC is engaging with a number of young farmers around the state.'

Vision: Sarah speaking:

'We've held consultation meetings to get people together to discuss those key issues and challenges that people are facing.'

Vision: Farmer in milking shed - Council members at meeting - Sarah speaking:

'What we're doing with that information is pulling it together into some key recommendations, and they will be presented to the Minister for her consideration about initiatives and policies in the young farmer space going forward.'

Vision: Calves being fed - Sarah speaking:

'Working with young farmers on the ground, I really wanted to ensure that young people had a voice and that their opinions, challenges and ideas were heard by government, and being on the Young Farmer Ministerial Advisory Council allowed me to do that.'

Vision: Sarah walking and talking at meeting:

'Another aspect of why I wanted to be on the Young Farmer MAC is because I guess I wanted to improve and develop my leadership skills.'

Vision: Sarah speaking:

'I saw this as an opportunity to continue my learning, to gain new networks.'

[Vision: Aerial view of farmland]

'I wanted to be an advocate, not only for young people in agriculture, but Victorian agriculture state wide.'

Gregor Knight — Part Manager, Golden Wattle, Quambatook:

'Hi, I'm Gregor Knight.

I farm at Quambatook Victoria with my dad.'

Vision: Aerial view of farmland:

It's a family farm with a mix of sheep, wheat, barley, canola and veg.

Vision: Gregor speaking:

'This is a fourth generation family farm.

I'm the fourth.'

Vision: Sunrise over farm Gregor, dog and sheep:

'And the farm has really come a long way since then.'

Vision: Gregor and Malcolm walking over farm:

'My dad, Malcolm's, done a lot of work in that area really sort of trying to keep on the edge of technology and new ideas in some respects.'

Vision: Tractor being driven on farm — monitor showing corn coverage — ute:

'And the MAC has really helped with that and sort of given me a challenge and go outside of my comfort zone and try and improve and learn in other areas that I wouldn't otherwise have on the farm.'

Vision: Gregor speaking:

'I feel like the MAC has really given me an opportunity to improve my public speaking.'

Vision: Aerial view of dam and farmland — Gregor speaking at meeting:

'Being in a small rural area you can really get bogged down in what you're doing day-to-day, and you don't often get a chance to meet these sort of people.'

Vision: Gregor speaking:

'And so the networking that comes with the Young Farmer MAC is really valuable and really exciting as well.'

Andrew Bulmer — Managing Director Bulmer Farms, Lindenow

'Hi, my name is Andrew Bulmer, I'm Managing Director of Bulmer Farms here in Lindenow.

Our business predominantly focuses on salad production.'

Vision: Aerial view of farm

'And we're a family run business.'

Vision: Andrew speaking — Andrew walking with apprentice:

'Every year we bring in at least one production horticulture apprentice into the business.'

Vision: Andrew inspecting lettuce — Andrew speaking:

'And at the moment we've got four or five apprentices working across different aspects of the business.'

Vision: View of farm and crops

'We see this as really important.'

Vision: People working on farm picking lettuce

'We want to encourage as many young people to come back in and be passionate about agriculture and horticulture.'

Vision: Andrew speaking:

'And I think a lot of other industries need to get on board with this approach too, to provide pathways, real job pathways and employment opportunities back into industries for people to flourish and go forward.'

Vision: View over farm and crops — Andrew speaking:

'It's been a fantastic opportunity to come together, to network and to learn with other like-minded individuals right across the state in different industries.'

Vision: Andrew driving tractor — Andrew speaking:

'It's been great to be a part of it and I've met some real exceptional people along the journey.'

Vision: Aerial view of sunrise over farmland — Caitlin speaking:

'So the process has not only helped to inform the recommendations to make sure that they truly represent the needs and the opportunities for young farmers in regional Victoria, but it's also been a fantastic leadership opportunity for each of the 11 council members that form the Young Farmer Ministerial Advisory Council.'

[Vision: AGRICULTURE VICTORIA — Join the next phase of the journey. Expressions of interest now open]