HOSTED by Dr Nicholas George, the session highlighted how science, research and industry knowledge support growers, while encouraging students to look beyond familiar career pathways and consider opportunities across the horticulture supply chain, including working directly on farm.

Returning in 2026, the message was simple: horticulture offers more career opportunities than many students realise.

Students are interested, but where will they go?

A survey conducted during the latest presentation showed encouraging confidence about future careers in agriculture. Around 84% of students said they were moderately, very or extremely confident about finding a career in the sector after graduation, including 28% who described themselves as very or extremely confident.

When asked what role they were interested in pursuing, agronomist was the most prominent response. Other interests included soil scientist, agricultural consultant, horticulturist, researcher, agricultural scientist and agribusiness.

While these are important roles, students were encouraged to look beyond familiar graduate pathways.

Horticulture needs people across the supply chain, from growers, farm managers and production supervisors to researchers, biosecurity specialists, quality assurance professionals and business development professionals.

Students were therefore encouraged to engage with industry before graduation through farm visits, seasonal work, volunteering, work experience, field days and other industry activities. These experiences can help build confidence, develop professional networks and better understand where their skills and interests may fit within horticulture.

Sometimes, the best way to discover a career in horticulture is simply to step onto a farm, meet a grower and see where the science comes to life.

One of the strongest messages from conversations with students was their interest in seeing more of agriculture and horticulture firsthand.

Many were keen to visit farms, get their hands dirty and learn directly from growers. While university provides an important scientific and technical foundation, students recognised there is much to learn by seeing that knowledge applied on farm.

A farm visit can expose students to the many decisions growers make every day. Crop planning, irrigation, nutrition, pest and disease management, labour, machinery, food safety, compliance, market requirements and seasonal conditions all come together within one farm business.

Seeing these challenges in practice can give students a stronger appreciation of the complexity of horticultural production and help them understand there is rarely one simple answer to an on-farm problem. Decisions need to consider cost, timing, labour availability, market conditions, crop quality and the realities of implementation.

There is also value in students hearing directly from growers about what has worked, what has not and where they see opportunities for improvement. Those conversations bring another dimension to classroom learning and help students understand why industry experience is so important.

For some students, visiting a farm may change how they think about their future career. A student interested in research or consulting may discover opportunities in production management, agronomy, technology, farm business management or even becoming a grower.

For growers, engaging students with horticulture is not only about building the next generation of agronomists, researchers and advisers. It is also about showing them there are rewarding careers on farm.

Many agricultural science students may initially think of professional pathways away from production, but horticulture offers a wide range of on farm roles requiring technical knowledge, practical problem solving and strong management skills. These include farm and production management, crop supervision, irrigation, machinery and technology, pest and disease management, quality assurance, compliance and business operations.

Attracting capable young people into these roles is increasingly important. Modern horticulture businesses are becoming more technical and complex, creating growing demand for people who can combine agricultural science with practical farm experience.

A student who visits a farm today may become a future employee, farm manager or even a grower themselves. Spending time on a farm gives students a chance to see what these roles involve and understand that working in production can offer responsibility, variety, problem solving and a pathway for career progression.

It also gives growers an opportunity to explain how decisions are made, what skills they look for and where opportunities may exist for graduates prepared to learn and get involved.

Creating stronger connections between students and farms can help build a workforce that understands horticulture from the ground up and is better prepared to contribute to farm businesses in the future.

The AUSVEG Growing a Career in Horticulture booklet has been a useful resource during both Curtin presentations and was again well received by students this year.

The career map demonstrates how broad the industry is, linking on farm roles with agronomy, research and consultancy, trades, processing, post harvest, corporate services, sales and marketing, wholesale, retail and other parts of the supply chain.