Like many farmers in recent years, Heather and Peter Reid have felt the pressures of the shrinking labour force within the agricultural sector.
While advertising for a station hand in December 2024, they found it challenging to attract suitably qualified applicants for their wool growing operation in Central West NSW.
They own Kimbriki Station at The Marra, north of Nyngan, where the Reid family has been breeding Merinos for 70 years.
“A common thing we found was that we had a lot of applicants who were not suitably qualified,” Heather said. “We need to be confident that they can contribute on the farm.”
By chance, Heather happened upon an advertisement in a NSW Farmers magazine for AgCAREERSTART, a gap-year program for 17 to 25-year-olds run by the National Farmers’ Federation, which has provided an opportunity for the Reid’s to attract young people to their remote sheep station. The program matches host farms with participants, providing a pathway to farm employment, training opportunities and a chance to build networks within the industry.
In February 2025, the Reid’s welcomed Jorja Barnett from Kempsey. She will spend ten to 12 months at Kimbriki Station under the AgCAREERSTART program.
Heather said the program had already proven to be successful for their operation.
During the recruitment process, the team at AgCAREERSTART qualified the participants before presenting two potential candidates for the Reid’s to interview.
"They do a lot of the hard work for you. They proactively prepare them and support them along the way.”
While Jorja already had some livestock handling experience, she hadn’t been given the opportunity to gain exposure to the sheep world.
“She really wanted to get sheep experience because she didn’t have any,” Peter said. “That’s the big plus here – she’s interested already.”
The Reid’s run 5500 Egelabra-blood Merino ewes at Kimbriki Station, offering an excellent opportunity for her to gain that exposure.
Wool is the primary focus of the operation and once a year the Reid’s head to the Australian Wool Exchange at Yennora to watch their wool be sold.
This year, they were able to take Jorja along to see the process first hand. Jorja has been working for the Reid’s for a few short months, constantly growing her list of farming skills.
“She’s doing a bit of everything, from repairs in the woolshed to operating machinery,” Peter said. “A lot of the early days were focused on safety.”
"It's nice to think the skillset we are teaching Jorja will keep her in the industry."
As part of the program, Jorja has access to support, including counselling and regular check-ins from the AgCAREERSTART team, as well as financial incentives for training and funding to attend industry events.
Heather said attracting young people further west was hard, but it was comforting to know that Jorja had ongoing support in what can be a daunting experience for young people.
“To have this sort of quality and support available to us has been great,” Heather said. “It’s been so positive for us.”
There is also a financial incentive for the host farm with a $2000 grant available after completing an on-farm safety induction program with the participant.
Being remote, the Reid’s have found it challenging to attract and retain young people, however they are excited at the prospect of hosting AgCAREERSTART participants into the future.
“We already feel like there is commitment on Jorja’s part because she signed up for the program.”
The Reid’s would like to see the program promoted more widely and Government funding extended so it can continue into the future.
“It’s a really effective, targeted use of resources aimed at young people,” Heather said. “Hopefully our industry can keep them.”
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| Peter and Heather Read took Jorja Barnett along to watch their wool being sold at the Australian Wool Exchange, Yennora, where they were joined by Ian Sharp of Macdonald & Co Woolbrokers (left). |
More about AgCAREERSTART
We caught up the AgCAREERSTART team to find out more about the program.
Tell us about some of the major benefits of the AgCareerStart program for farmers and what challenges they help farmers overcome.
AgCAREERSTART is a National Agricultural gap-year Program, proudly funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and delivered by the National Farmers Federation.
The free program links farmers looking for employees together with AgCAREERSTART participants aged 17-25, offering young Australians the opportunity to either commence or continue a career in Agriculture, but also acting as a foot in the door for many.
The program also supports producers that may be experiencing workforce shortages with passionate employees and are driven to help future-proof the industry's workforce continuation.
As the program is intended to be a pathway program, welcoming applicants with or without a prior connection to Agriculture or industry experience is only one consideration in making a match.
Other considerations such as location preference, demonstration of resilience and preparedness for farm environments, access to a driver's license (or other licences), business culture, host mentoring, and industry suitability, are just some of the additional metrics. However, it's important to note that ultimately, the decision to hire (and place) is reliant on our Host Producers and their business needs.
As we are a National program working cross-sectorally, we have successfully placed Participants in every state and territory of Australia and support opportunities within every primary producing sector, from Livestock all the way through to Cotton, Forestry and Aquaculture.
During the 10-12 month on farm program, participants work and receive full-time wages (in line with industry awards) and a $4,500 bursary towards enhancing their training and self-development (licenses, certificates, study tours, industry events etc).
Aside from the training bursary, full time pastoral support is also offered to all Participants and Host Producers throughout the placement, including but not limited to onboarding support, employee relation support, WHS and general welfare check ins throughout the year (via phone or in person farm visits).
The program also mentors participants to help navigate life beyond their placement, whether that looks like remaining in employment on their placement farm or considering other options such as studying or relocation. Host Producers also receive developmental opportunities to upskill their businesses and people leaders in the way of training, online webinar and invitations to Industry Events.
What’s the success rate been like, particularly for participants seeing out the entire stay with their host farmers & how likely are the participants to stay within the agricultural industry after they complete their time with their host farmers?
The program is currently in its fourth cohort and gearing up for its fifth cohort in 2026, with having successfully placed over 250 young Australians on farms by the end of the year.
We proudly hold a retention rate of 85% of all graduated participants remaining in the agriculture industry post-placement and 43% of graduated participants remaining on that same property beyond the 10-12 months. Once Participants graduate from the program in December each year, they move into our Alumni program where upskilling, scholarships and industry event opportunities are also offered.|
We are always looking to connect with passionate Producers who are wanting to foster a young person's career in Agriculture and help drive efficiencies within their business.
Applications for our 2026 cohort that would commence on farm between January and March next year, open up online on the 21st of July and close on the 28th of September.
However, we are always flexible for the right business should they miss the immediate application period.
Applications and further information can be accessed here: https://agcareerstart.com.au/
