Name: Rhodey 
Role Title: Farm Forestry Officer
Location: NRE Tatura

Description of work undertaken:  Rhodey's job involves a  range of tasks and responsibilities mainly in extension, which includes farm visits, phone calls etc., to people already involved in farm forestry and to others interested it. Some extension work is one on one, but Rhodey also runs field days and writes articles for periodicals and newspapers. He is also involved with development of the industry, looking for markets for different products and  developing ideas for plantation management with other farm forestry officers. Rhodey also maintains trial sites and demonstration sites. He enjoys the variety of tasks and has a strong interest in farm forestry in itself.

Rhodey - Farm Forestry Officer

Team and / or individual role / responsibilities:
The Farm Forestry project aims to promote farm forestry on cleared agricultural land in the Shepparton Irrigation Region (SIR), to improve the knowledge, skills and safety of people in the industry and to encourage investment into farm forestry in this region. Rhodey manages the whole project in the SIR.

Future? 
Rhodey hopes to continue working in farm forestry for at least another five years, then would like to move more into horticulture.

BACKGROUND:
Grew up where? 
Rhodey grew up in Melbourne. Originally he intended studying surveying, but as early as Year 10 decided that Forestry was the go as it encompassed  more of the things he was interested in. It took about six months after leaving Uni to get a "real job". He started doing soil salinity surveys for DNRE Tatura (he go that job because he had some Geographic Information Systems (GIS) knowledge from Uni.). The project finished but he was able to stay on to do groundwater surveys, then got a job with the GIS group working Tatura and Kerang. That project also finished and he worked for six weeks as Catchment Environment Officer in the Kerang area then moved to the farm forestry role at Tatura.

Course(s) studied: 
Tertiary /post secondary:
Bachelor of Forest Science, University of Melbourne

Secondary: 
Biological sciences, geography and chemistry were the most helpful secondary school subjects for  Rhodey's degree studies.

Work experience: 
Rhodey worked for 10 weeks at Myrtleford  for the Victorian Plantations Corporation, and for 4 weeks in plantation inventory  at Maryborough doing various tasks for the forests officers there. He also worked for 10 weeks at Tarraleah (Tasmania) in native forest inventory. During secondary school Rhodey did two weeks work experience at a nursery in Mt Macedon.

OPPORTUNITIES: 
Further study: 
Rhodey is planning on doing a Graduate Certificate in Horticulture and may do a Masters in forestry in the future.

Learning on job, new skills, etc. 
"Absolutely", Rhodey says "Most of it is learning on the job. When you come out of Uni you have the theory but you haven't got the practice." He has done several short courses through work, a marketing course, for example.

Travel, etc.
Rhodey usually goes to a conference or workshop once a year, and travels around the state for farm forestry meetings. He travels around the SIR (Shepparton Irrigation Region) as part of day-to- day work.

ADVICE TO STUDENTS NOW: 
For people who want work experience in forestry, the inventory jobs are not too hard to get, and you are paid for doing it. They are good for getting a foot into the industry. His general recommendation is "be persistent" - as an example, to get into Forestry (after a first offer of Agriculture) he spoke to lecturers and was able to secur a second round offer. 

OTHER: 
Comments, thoughts, suggestions. 
"In farm forestry it helps to be passionate about it, and it's necessary to have good extension skills (communication skills). The farm forestry course is excellent, for a number of reasons. There's a comparatively small intake, and you spend two years at Creswick School of Forestry, so you get to know the other people in your course really well. There is a lot of hands on work in the course, it creates a lot of opportunities, you get a broad overview of everything you can possibly think of in forestry, and then there is the opportunity to specialise in whatever takes your interest."

What careers have other graduates from your course entered?
Other graduates from his year are doing a wide range of things: there is a floriculture development officer, one is employed by a private forestry company as a forest officer, one person is in forest products research at CSIRO, another person does GIS work, one graduate who prepares statistical information, a few people have branched out on other tracks (such as banking), there are a few other farm-forestry officers, and two people have started their own consultancy business dealing with revegetation and urban landscapes.