Yesterday I had the opportunity to celebrate a personal & a career milestone. I graduated with a Masters of Philosophy from the University of Queensland - Gatton. An MPhil is awarded for research. My research project focussed on improving the way extension activities are carried out in the Australian beef industry. I definitely couldn't have achieved this result without so much support from my family, friends, colleagues and from farmers who shared their thoughts and experiences with me.
There were a lot of people graduating alongside me yesterday. There were several PhD graduates, a few more with MPhil, Masters of Agribusiness, and a huge class of undergraduates from Agriculture and Applied Sciences. I have to say I was excited and pleased to see so many people choosing to study and to take a career direction based in agriculture.
The welcome address to the graduates yesterday by Professor Peter Hoj struck a chord with me, and with many other people listening. He talked about the tremendous opportunities and the excitement of working in agriculture. In particular the vital importance of feeding and clothing our nation and the world. There are other opportunities such as working in bio-security to protect our industries, or for the fact that agricultural degrees can lead to careers which can change peoples lives and societies for the better. He also remixed graduates that their qualifications shouldn't be just for academic roles (as valuable as they are) but they should be used to make a difference.
I've been asked why did I do more study and why an MPhil. The simple answer is I want to keep pushing myself to find better ways to help farmers.
The great thing about my research project was it let me ask and learn from producers what they wanted from advisory and extension services. The things I've learnt should help shape future projects in a way that makes them useful for farmers, and not just become another project or worse, a talk feast.
The hard thing to know with this type of research is if you have really got it right, and what your examiners will think of it. I was lucky I had two great supervisors in Dr Don Cameron & Dr Jeff Coutts, to give me feedback before I submitted my findings.
My thesis was examined by two international examiners. One from Indonesia and one from the United States. Both of them were happy to accept my research which was exciting.
More exciting was to hear the US examiner had changed some of his extension and advisory programs to use some of my findings. His feedback was that the changes worked really well with his farmers. Its exciting to think that the lessons I've learnt with NSW farmers have been used to help farmers in another country.
My goal has always been to work with farmers and people involved in agriculture so we can find better ways to produce food and to get paid for it. I reckon my challenge is to keep looking for those ways which are practical and useful for producers as well as for the wider industry. Its pretty exciting and I'm looking forward to sharing a few ideas with you on your farm.