Over 70 enthusiastic AgConnect students from The Cathedral College (TCC) gained a firsthand look at Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast’s thriving agricultural sector visiting four successful producers, each showcasing their unique contributions to the industry.
Teys, Australia (Rockhampton) General Manager, Stephen Thomson shared how Australia’s second largest meat processing organisation prepares top quality beef fit for dining tables across the world covering the intake of livestock, animal welfare, MSA Grading processes, quality assurance, controls and distribution.
Mr Thomson highlighted various career opportunities, including school based-apprenticeships and Graduate programs sparking interest among Year 11 and 12 AgConnect students who will tour the plant in Term 4.
Over 800 chicks are delivered every five weeks to Dynamic Eggs to sustain egg farming operations providing restaurants, markets and grocery shops good doses of daily protein. Dynamic Egg farmer and entrepreneur Mr Anthony Sylvester runs Central Queensland’s largest pastured egg farm and has expanded operations to include pasta making use of non-specific eggs to supply local restaurants and farmers' markets in the region. Mr Sylvester shared with students the secrets of using all your resources to improve profitability and further your operations.
With the average age of farmers across Australia being 60 years, Joel and Jess Price from Cap Coast Vegies are encouraging younger farmers to get out and have a go. Once shift workers the couple traded their rostered life to working with the four seasons and have been embraced by the farming community to produce gourmet salad vegetables and fruits using hydroponics and other sustainable agricultural practices.
Passionate for farming and providing freshly grown produce, the Prices guided students through their many crops.
Permaculturalist Ross O’Reilly showcased High Valley Dawn’s food forest that provides restaurants and other markets organically grown vegetables. Mr O’Reilly showed what is possible when ingenuity, business principles and sustainable agricultural practices collide to transform a rocky, barren hillside into a productive, chemical free, off the grid farming operation. Students sampled their fare lunching at nearby Beaches restaurant featuring a paddock to plate menu.
TCC AgConnect Coordinator Mrs Sarah Coombs praised the local producers' engagement and the students' enthusiasm.
"There is such a vibrant community of agricultural providers here in CQ, and it's a real eye-opener for many of our students to see how much the area contributes to our food supply," she said.
This immersive experience not only educated the students about agricultural practices but demonstrated what a future in the industry looks like and how they can play a part in continuing Central Queensland's agricultural excellence.
