Agriculture TNT

Because of our ever-increasing population that is predicted to reach eight billion by 2020, the need for food will remain a top priority, transcending all socio and geo-political boundaries. The increased demand for food will call on agriculture, specifically, to act as the biggest source of industry. And with the increased demand for foodstuff, better-quality yield and huge agricultural output will be required. (Though there has been vast improvement in the sector thanks to the improved quality of seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers.)
This is where the agriculture biotechnologist steps in. Agricultural biotechnologists are professionals who provide a set of tools, which, if incorporated suitably with other technologies, can be used for the sustainable development of agriculture and the food industry as a whole.

Scope of the Agri-Biotech Industry

With increased R&D efforts in the agri-biotech industry, the scope of agriculture-based biotech work has become tremendous. Agriculture biotechnologists’ roles are multifarious. From being people with strong scientific expertise to being good administrators and good marketers with sharp business acumens and strong communication skills, the career options for an agri-biotechnologist are vast. Choosing the right avenue is the main priority.

Nature of the Job

Today, with modern technologies like micro propagation which allows for the multiplication of virus-free plants and tissue cultures, agriculturists have successfully combated natural hindrances to productivity such soil imbalances, crop diseases, and genetic breeding. Therefore, the agriculture-based biotech industry needs people who are qualified in the fields of molecular biology, plant transformation and tissue cultures, biochemistry, plant genetics, pathology, entomology, and agronomy for trait evaluation and integration.

Career Options for Agri-Biotechnologists

The field of agriculture-based biotechnology is evolving each day, offering numerous career options. Besides employing people for research and development, the industry also caters to various other agri-biotech-related fields including horticulture, floriculture, dairying, poultry farming, and fishery. Agri-based biotechnologists can also sharpen their academic skills by working with food processing or post-harvest technology, better known as genetically modified (GM) technology.

Career Challenges in the Agri-Biotech Industry

With growing consciousness of the ills of chemically treated foodstuff, changes in approaches to farming are taking place all over the globe. The stage has been set for the advent of bio-chemicals and bio-insecticides, biofertilizers, and biofuels. Agriculture-biotechnology careers are never short of challenges, both natural and man-made. For instance, in the next two-and-a-half decades alone, the world must produce the same amount of food or more than what it produced in the last 10,000 years.

For a biotechnologist, the challenge does not end with producing sufficient amounts of foodstuff. The challenge lies not only in meeting requirements within deadlines but, at the same time, causing minimal harm to the earth. Agriculture biotechnologists have to combat odds like the depletion of precious top-soil at the rate of seven percent in 10 years in order to fulfill the increasing water requirements which will have doubled by that time.

Other Career Options

Several other career openings are available for agri-business graduates. From the more general opportunities within the agricultural and land-based sectors such as equine management, animal science, and horticulture, to global buying and trading of agricultural produce, the opportunities are vast for agriculture biotechnologists.

Tasmania is situated in the southern part of the Australian continent, considered a splendid getaway island that boasts of untouched wilderness, thousand-year-old trees, rugged coastlines, and rushing whitewater rivers. Tasmania is capable of producing high quality farm products. Its fertile soil, temperate climate and adequate water supply complemented by developed irrigation systems, all contribute to its progressive agricultural industry. In Tasmania, agriculture plays a major part in the economy as there are other industrial sectors that also rely in agriculture.

The government of Australia is oblivious to the fact that agriculture plays a key role in their economy and for this reason, the need to closely monitor and strengthen their irrigation systems in the face of calamities like drought and natural disasters is but imperative. One third of Tasmanias 68000 square kilometers land area is attributed to the agricultural industry which is why irrigation plays an integral part in its agricultural sector.

Statistics reveal that 14,000 gigaliters or 65% of the total water consumed are used for irrigation of agricultural land in Australia. It is alarming to note that this amount of water is not efficiently used the way it should be. Here lies the importance of an efficient irrigation system so that water can be conserved and utilized for the right purpose.

The sprinkler type or overhead irrigation is the one of the most commonly used irrigation systems in Tasmania. Water is sprayed over the crops by use of sprinklers or guns attached to an elevated structure. In a solid set sprinkler system, water is fed from a pump set and runs through a row of pipes or hard hoses. This kind of sprinkler is permanently installed at strategic locations of the farm area that need irrigation.

In a travelling irrigator system, the sprinkler is attached to a wheeled mechanism and has mobility to move across the farm area to perform its irrigation function. Another type of sprinkler irrigation system is the pivot irrigation device where pieces of pipes are connected to a framework of beams holding the pipes together. The sprinkler head moves in a circular motion and water is supplied into the pivot point at the center of the circle. Of all the sprinkler irrigation systems, the centre pivot irrigation is the most widely used by farmers in Tasmania.

A more traditional type of irrigator system is flood irrigation which is considerably the least expensive of all the irrigation systems. Here, water is allowed to flow on the crops directly to the farm bed. It does not require complicated machines to irrigate farms by this means. On the other hand, in furrow irrigation, shallow water canals are hollowed out between rows to catch the water that irrigate the crops.

The importance of an efficient irrigation system is crucial to the development of the agricultural industry in Tasmania. Since agriculture is highly reliant on abundant water supply, emphasis should be given on the proper irrigation agriculture practice by means of getting the appropriate irrigation equipment suitable to the needs of the agricultural lands in Tasmania.

Writing an agriculture resume needs the same kind of planning we do before going to any place for spending our holidays. For this, we do lots of research in finding an ideal and suitable place that offers a decent return within our budget. Connect this practice with the job application process to get yourself informed about the company you are interested. This step is essential to find the work culture, products, services and clients of the company. You may even have to answer questions based on this at the interview if selected. Once, you are ready with details, start writing the agriculture resume.

However, to start with writing process, there are few proper guidelines you should follow in order to target the employers’ needs.

Proper Guidelines for Agriculture Resume

After the research work, first point to consider while drafting the agriculture resume is to compile information for describing your skills, relevant education, work experience and achievements pertaining to the agriculture field. Type your complete name, residential address, contact numbers and email address at the beginning.

Focus on any one particular position matching your profile, rather than simply stating ‘application for any suitable position.’ Do not give employers some work to find out which position suits you. Under no circumstances, they will comply with your request. Instead, be confident and mention the job you are seeking in the objective statement. State what you are aiming for, and relate it with your skills, knowledge and experience by highlighting the employers’ benefit. This will work as a bait and make them read your resume completely.

Since each job in the agriculture field requires special skills and talent, list them under the “Professional Skills” section. Describe the abilities that have resulted from the experience and training you have obtained. Be specific, and include genuine information. List the proficiencies that are needed in the job. Never touch on those things you are unaware of. You will have to eat your words if you are not able to prove it during the interview round.

Most likely, the employers would like to know about the companies you have worked in. So, in the job history section, address the company, and give a brief introduction. The description should answer the following questions: What do the company does, and what are their products they deal in? How long they are in existence? Is it state, multi-national, private, public or sister-concern of an entity? Just addressing three to four questions are more than enough to introduce the company. After that, list the activities you were responsible for. Start with the primary duties and then wrap up with the secondary ones. It should appear in bullet points so that the readers can understand it easily.

Describe training and education after the job history. If you have completed your master’s degree, list it first. The bachelor’s degree should appear last. Simply put, the current qualification should appear first.

Before typing, refer to resume samples from the agriculture field. Copy a standard resume format and paste it in the word processing application to work on it. With these guidelines for agriculture resume, you would help yourself in drafting an effective resume.

According to the latest predictions from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) price volatility, climate change and crop diseases combined with poor harvests in 2010 could herald another food crisis in 2011, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia.

Floods in Pakistan and China and the summer drought in Russia, which led to a ban on all wheat exports this year, mean that stocks of wheat, maize and some other foods were not as high as in previous years.

It has already been seen that this has led to to commodity price speculation that pushed up the prices of these grains and food by 40% in a few months and food price inflation is currently running at 15% per year.

Almost certainly consumers and shoppers in most of the world will be facing higher food bills in 2011. The FAO’s November monthly report forecasts that these factors will lead to a running down of global food reserves, which are currently at around 74 days, and an increase in prices of between 10% and 20% in 2011.

The prediction is its most pessimistic since 2008, when more than 25 countries experienced food riots after price rises precipitated a food crisis that hit the poorest in many parts of the world.

Several other factors add to the problem. Current forecasts for world grain production next year are at 2% below 2009, lower than was anticipated last June, when production for 2011 was being forecast to expand.

In addition, the FAO says, climate change and the competition between food and biofuel production means that grain crops particularly command higher prices as biofuel rather than as food.

Increasingly unpredictable weather patterns attributed to climate change are adding to the situation’s volatility and the potential for further price speculation as well as the ongoing problem of some increasingly intractable diseases such as wheat rust, a fungus that can seriously affect the level of the harvest.

The report says: “The most feared disease of wheat’stem rust has re-emerged in a new virulent form, and new aggressive stripe rust strains are devastating wheat crops in several countries.” Since was first identified the pathogen, which is wind-borne and can travel up to several thousand kilometres, has continued to mutate and spread.

While reaching global agreement on tackling such issues as climate change and combating the temptation towards price speculation, protecting national economies by using import tariffs and restrictions in a global economic crisis may be moving far too slowly to have any major impact on food production and scarcity in the short term there are other strategies that could be used.

One is taking urgent action to restore degraded land around the world. There is an estimated 1bn hectares-plus of land with the potential to be restored. Another is to increase the fertility of existing land. In the context of improving fertility the use of disease resistant seeds, integrated pest management and conservation agriculture can all play a part.

The work of biopesticides developers in devising low-chem agricultural yield enhancers, biopesticides and biofungicides, all of which are kinder to the environment, soil and ecosystems could be particularly helpful to poorer small farmers in the developing world as long as there is wider agreement on speedy regulation and licensing as well as proper training and financial support for farmers to be able to access them.

Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers

As custodians of nearly 50 per cent of Australia’s land mass, the Australian red meat and livestock industry recognises its responsibility to agricultural sustainability – sustainably managing the environment for all Australians while providing a nutritious, quality food product.

A focus on sustainable agriculture is a priority for the Australian livestock industry, with improved environmental practices having benefits for not only the environment, but also productivity. At every stage of the process from the paddock to the plate, there are opportunities for continuous improvement in environmental management and sustainable agriculture practices.

The red meat industry invests over $13 million annually in research and development to better understand the environmental impact and to further improve the environmental performance of the industry and sustainable farming.

The industry has initiated research and development into sustainable production to reduce emissions and water use, improve biodiversity, create energy efficiencies, minimise waste and implement environmentally sustainable land management practices.

In Australia, cattle and sheep are mostly grazed on large areas of semi-arid and arid rangelands.

As with all primary food production the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is essential in ensuring that Australia is able to feed a growing population with minimal environmental impact.

Sustainable agriculture – The Australian livestock industry

Agricultural sustainability in the Australian livestock industry is best understood in the context of: – Environmental sustainability – Economic sustainability, and – The sustainability of regional communities

Ensuring the industry employs sustainable farming practices has benefits for not only producers, processors and the supply chain but for the regional and rural communities that rely on the employment and economic stimulation of the livestock industry.

To ensure economic sustainability, farmers need to sustainably manage the environment. After all, it’s the soil, grass and water on farmers’ properties that enables them to graze cattle and sheep.

Improving environmental sustainability

Over the past 10 to 15 years the livestock industry has been focused on improving its environmental sustainability. Farmers have been managing the twin challenges of environment sustainability, at the same time as striving to increase productivity in the context of a highly variable climate.

The red meat industry acknowledges that prior to this time that many practices had a negative impact on natural resources across the country. Early Australian agriculture tried to farm the country in a European manner, as a result, a range of government policies and on-farm practices led to environment degradation in some areas.

Today most farmers understand that to be sustainable they need to manage the environment in a sustainable way and employ sustainable agriculture practices.

The industry has invested significantly in research and development to ensure environmental sustainability, including: – Grazing strategies – Soil and groundcover management – Water management – Reducing emissions – Revegetating

The livestock industry is proud of the improvement it has made in sustainably managing natural resources. Right across the country the improvement in soil health, groundcover, vegetation and biodiversity can be seen on farms.

agriculture sustainability is an important topic to consider for all farms in australia. Find out more at www.redmeatgreenfacts.com.au