Farming leaders of the future have joined forces with industry leaders to learn about and test the latest technology.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group hosted its annual Ag Innovation Expo at Hagley Farm School for both industry and students on Wednesday.
For the first time, the expo included a student camp component. Students from across the state camping at Hagley Farm School experienced virtual reality workshops to a presentation from Tasmanian Apprentice of the Year Caitlin Radford.
Sophie Smith of Scottsdale High School said she thought the camp would be an excellent way to learn about technology on the farm and its uses, as she is considering an agricultural career.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"I didn't think it [the camp] would be so broad, I didn't know that it would include things like virtual reality ... it's really shown that there's an agricultural career for everyone, you don't have to have grown up on a farm," she said.
Revitalising School Farms statewide coordinator Andrew Harris said the school and TAPG introduced the camp to help include young people in the event.
"It was something we've been grappling with for the past few years, how to maximise the student impact for this event," he said.
The expo is held during the school holidays, so students are not typically as involved as they might be. However, Mr Harris said the school aimed to make the camp an annual thing and grow to include more schools as it became more popular.
RELATED STORY: What were cutting edge tractors doing at Hagley Farm School?
Scottsdale student Sophie Smith, grade 10, said she was considering a career in agronomy.
"I thought the camp would be a good learning opportunity, to see how technology is involved in agriculture," she said.
Miss Smith said she had picked up some tips and tools she hoped to use in her agronomy career when she graduated.
TAPG executive officer Terry Brient said the expo was about trying to provide a unified front between the farming community and students to learn about new farm innovation and technology.
"If we are going to reach the government's target [to grow agriculture to $10 billion value by 2050] we are going to need these students - they will be the workforce," he said.
Mr Brient said the expo was about bringing education and the industry together so the future workforce was exposed to the right technology and training they would need in the future.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner