The push comes as cutting-edge machinery is used to plug a labour shortage on the nation’s remote farms that threatens to derail its ambitions to become Asia’s food bowl.

“For the first time in many years, we’re finding it easier to attract graduates because agriculture, particularly technology in agriculture, is back on the radar,” said Felicity Hennessy, general manager of innovation at agribusiness Ruralco.

For years, potential recruits to Australian agriculture have been turned off by the harsh image of traditional farming, but a marked acceleration towards automation has piqued the interest of young generations, with jobs available to do everything from developing crop-protecting drones to crunching data on cattle nutrition.

“The proliferation of drones and sensors are the key drivers,” said Hennessy, adding that Ruralco’s graduate program had seen a rise in the number and quality of applicants.

While Australia is among the world’s leaders in robotics for outdoor use, having given birth to the first robot to round up cattle, the A$4-billion agriculture technology industry is still in its infancy. It is mainly just a few companies that are big enough to recruit.

The nation’s largest cattle firm Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) is one of the local firms in the sector that has regularly been hiring tech-savvy youngsters.

“Interest in agriculture is rising, from engineers to science-type graduates,” said Gerard Davis, who heads a team of seven in an innovation department at AACo that started under three years ago.

Data from Rimfire Resources, a recruiting firm specialized in farming, showed 4,600 agricultural jobs were advertised on the Internet in 2016, from an average of 3,750 in the past three years.

“It is difficult to say whether the increase is driven by technology, but there is a clear shift for off-the-farm roles,” said Nigel Crawley, a director at Rimfire Resources.

Down on the farm

New degrees such as agri-sciences are being added by universities, with a sharp rise in students who do not have a farming background.

City-born engineering student Michael Forrai had never set foot on a farm, but as part of his studies is now testing weed-spraying functions on robots in wheat fields near Emerald, a remote town in the state of Queensland.

“I had never heard of Emerald before and really would have never expected to work on a farm,” said the 30-year-old student from the University of Sydney. “Now, I see it as an amazing opportunity… I am definitely considering staying in agricultural robotics.”

But competition is stiff for agricultural companies looking to recruit engineers or tech graduates.

“We have to be looking all the time,” said Matt Pryor, the founder of water and livestock sensors maker Observant, citing companies in aerospace, automotive, finance, health care and e-commerce vying for the candidates.

Observant provides web-based software to allow farmers to check water levels remotely. The system collects data from soil moisture sensors, weather stations and cameras.

The 13-year-old company employs a staff of 12, having added three technicians last year.

“We changed our mindset from being position focused to talent focused and that can be tough because you may take somebody before the business is ready,” said Pryor.

“In a competitive market, you have to be at market price or above,” he said, declining to give more details.

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The Australian Grains Champion (AGC), which includes farmers and some former directors of CBH, wants to acquire and list the Western Australia co-operative in a deal that analysts say would be worth up to A$3 billion ($2.2 billion).

The consortium’s drive for shareholder support comes as The Australian newspaper on Friday reported Chinese agribusiness COFCO Corp was considering a rival bid for CBH, citing no sources. CBH refused to comment.

However, a banker familiar with AGC’s bid dismissed suggestions of a rival bidder, calling the report “speculation”.

The AGC proposal has the financial backing of pension fund First State Super, as well as eastern Australian grain handler GrainCorp Ltd, which has stirred concerns among some farmers that it could eventually acquire CBH.

CBH, which has said the proposal lacks detail, is deciding whether to put the plan to its shareholders or reject it outright.

AGC was due to meet on Friday with the state’s Pastoralists and Graziers Association, a prominent industry body, to drum up support for its plan, several growers told Reuters.

AGC told Reuters that CBH is misleading its shareholders with recent comments and was attempting to set the record straight.

“The complexity of the deal is no different to a cooperative moving to being a company,” said John Corbett, director, Hassad Australia, an agriculture investment group, and a member of AGC.

“CBH is creating doubts with growers. We are also having similar conversations with them. There are concerns about the costs going up but it does not make sense. If you start raising charges, you’re letting competition in, so why would you do that?” said Corbett, referring to fees for storing and processing grain.

Although AGC is pressing for shareholder support, growers said they believed the CBH board will reject the offer by the March 18 deadline.

“I don’t believe the CBH board will allow the growers to see the proposal from AGC,” said John Snooke, a farmer and shareholder in CBH, ahead of a briefing on the proposal.

A source close to the consortium told Reuters this week the chance of a CBH board approval was seen as “50-50”.

AGC has proposed it take ownership of CBH from its 4,200 farmer owners, who will receive shares in the consortium, along with a A$600 million sweetener.

GrainCorp would commit up to A$600 million, which would be transferred to an equity stake in CBH once it was listed. This investment would give GrainCorp a 20 per cent stake in CBH if it was valued at A$3 billion.

($1 = 1.3598 Australian dollars)

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