Professional agriculture- a case of supply and demand

The agricultural industry is at the crossroads in terms of workforce capacity.Evidence is presented that there is a sizeable job maarket in agriculture and more thsan 4000 jobs are consistently being advertised seeking agricultural professionals. Conversely the number of graduates being supplied by Australian universities continues to decline significantly and is less than 20% of the number needed to satisfy the job market. Capacity therefore looms as the most significant issues for the agricultural industry as it endeavours to take advantage of the opportunities created by food security. The challenge is to make prospective students aware that careers in agriculture are at least as interesting, rewarding and challenging as in most other industries.