Olivia Conway from Taroom in Queensland is one of the bright young sparks studying at agricultural training college, Marcus Oldham in Geelong Victoria. Olivia 19 is set on a career path in agricultural production and aims to own and efficiently manage her own farming property. She decided that studying farm management at Marcus Oldham College was the best way to achieve her goals.
Olivia was raised on her family’s cattle and cropping property, and has since increased her skills base with work experience in the Northern Territory, the Gulf of Queensland and at Mansfield in Victoria, prior to commencing formal studies for her Bachelor of Business (Farm Management) at Marcus Oldham.
Olivia was awarded the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Agribusiness– Farm Business Management Scholarship to Marcus Oldham. Her belief is that modern farmers now have to work smarter, rather than harder.
She is especially enjoying the agronomy and animal nutrition elements of her course and is a keen student of financial subjects.
As a resident on the agricultural college campus, Olivia has enjoyed the opportunity to meet and live with people who have similar aspirations and interests. She has also taken full advantage of the study tours that visit leading service operators and producers throughout Victoria and surrounding areas, as well as partaking in the spring time tour to New Zealand to experience their leading edge agricultural practices.
For her second year Olivia will have an industry placement, before returning to Marcus Oldham to continue her farm management studies and an exciting opportunity for an international study tour to China.
Dr Simon Livingstone, Principal of Marcus Oldham, echoes Olivias thoughts on the need for smarter farm practices, “Farm managers require highly developed resource management skills to ensure the business they manage is based on systems that are environmentally and economically sustainable in the long term. Above all, successful managers will be required to have a thorough understanding of the national and international business environment.”
Dr Livingstone says that by studying for a farm business management or agribusiness degree students, like Olivia, are setting themselves on the best path to achieving a rewarding career as leaders in the rural sector, with employment positions both on and off farm.