Importance of agricultural education in schools

It was not until she went to high school at Mackay Christian College that she was really exposed to agriculture – and fell in love with the industry. 

After leaving school and working in town for a year, Ms Lindgren said she knew what she wanted to do was not in town – but on the land. 

She  said without agriculture at school, she had no doubt she never would have found her way into the industry. 

“It is so important to have agriculture in schools, without it, honestly I don’t think I would be working here now,” she said. 

“It was the best thing for me - it was the only thing that got me through high school.”

Ms Lindgren is now working for Michael Maguire in Emerald, and has goals to become a stud stock agent. 

For the past three years she has been working as a nanny and a governess, while learning on-farm skills she said were “invaluable”. 

AgForce School to Industry Project officer Ali Briggs said the importance of agriculture in schools is undeniable. 

“Cassie (Lindgren) is proof that good school based ag programs are encouraging and retaining kids in ag and are vital for the success of our industry,” Ms Briggs said. 

”While we engage with schools with ag programs, we also engage with a large number of schools that don’t have an in-house ag program, and we provide opportunities for these students to learn about where their food and fibre comes from.”

Ms Lindgren said part of enjoying agriculture was having teachers with a passion for the subject.

“Agriculture in school can seem boring, but if you have the right teacher, it can make all the difference,” she said. 

“I had two fantastic teachers who really got out there with us and were involved.

“I had the opportunity to be involved in the cattle show team, and that was what sparked my interest and love of cattle and stud cattle.

“Without that course at school, I never would have been exposed to the industry.” 

Ms Briggs said in a recent study, 100 per cent of grade three students thought that yoghurt was a plant product. 

She said it was statistics like that which showed the importance of agricultural education at all levels of school. 

”There’s a huge number of jobs in agriculture that can’t be filled by our current graduates,” she said.