Work experience at the West Midlands Group

By Kate Parker, Murdoch University Agricultural Science Student

For those who have not met me, my name is Kate and I have just completed two weeks work experience with the West Midlands Group (WMG). I am a Murdoch University Agricultural Science student majoring in Animal Science and through my studies I have developed an interest in agricultural extension work, in particular the role of grower groups.

Although I had heard of a grower group before, I wasn’t exactly sure what they ‘do’ and wanted to know more. I contacted Nathan at WMG hoping to get some work experience, looking to better understand what the day to day of the job is like, what goes on behind the scenes of research, development and extension and the role that WMG and other grower groups play in the agricultural industry.

In the 2 weeks of my placement at WMG I have had the opportunity to learn an incredible amount. I met farmers from all around the West Midlands region and saw firsthand how knowledgeable, motivated, and passionate they are about their farms and the industry as a whole.

One of my first activities was heading out with Mixed Farming Systems Officer Melanie, seeing a practical example of the extension work WMG does through one of their current projects, the K Extension Project. Melanie was presenting project participant farmers with their K Nutrient Infographic and working with them to understand this new way of presenting complicated nutrition data. This showed me that part of a grower groups job is to explore different communication and extension strategies and how to better formulate data to meet the farmer’s needs. The farmers responses to this project demonstrated how insightful and adaptable they are, already thinking about the next steps and the viability of the information.

While travelling around with Melanie I also had the opportunity to look at physical trial and project sites, learning how they are set up and the work that goes into getting them into the ground, as well as how they are monitored. Having never seen multi-species pasture mixes before it was interesting to see their multitude of applications and how each species work with each other to get the most out of their environment.

During the second week I got to see practical examples of soil testing with Project Communications Officer Simon as he completed soil testing for the Evolving Soil Testing Project. This included both obtaining the soil cores, making sure to get a representative paddock sample, and then seeing the results from previous soil tests. This helped me get a better understanding of some of the more theoretical content I have been taught through my university course.

While there was plenty of travelling around to different farms during my work experience, I also got to see the ‘office work’ side of the job. From designing a flyer for a workshop to writing and editing a case study for a project, I got the chance to contribute to some of the other communications material produced by WMG. I was also able to sit in on different styles of meetings with the WMG team, such as a DPIRD and Soil CRC meeting for the Future Carbon Project and a weekly staff meeting. It was interesting to see the amount of work and process that goes on behind physical project outputs and trials, with open discussions on progress and plenty of constructive team communication.

I have now come to the end of my time at WMG, and I can comfortably say that I have a much better understanding of what a grower group is and what they do. I have also been able to grow my knowledge on soils, nutrients and pastures as well as further develop my communication skills both written and interpersonal. It has been a privilege to be a part of such a happy, healthy, and hardworking workplace for the past two weeks and I hope to continue to watch what they do into the future.