Ollie Baker grew up in the dairy heartland of Timboon but hadn’t really considered work in the field until a door opened for him.
Everything changed thanks to a fruitful family conversation and a scholarship from DemoDAIRY Foundation.
Ollie, 17, is now doing his dairy apprenticeship with Pinecrest Dairy which operates three farms in the Heytesbury region and studying his Certificate II in Agriculture at RIST.
Ollie completed Year 10 at South West TAFE in 2023 and was looking for a work opportunity this year.
“My Mum was friends with someone who knew the farm owners and they had a chat and offered me milking shifts on Sundays and it spiralled from there,” he said.
“I enjoyed doing the milkings and wanted to do more.”
He is mainly working at Pinecrest’s Curdievale farm but also does some shifts at Nullawarre, with his work now nearing a full-time position.
“I grew up in town but I’ve always liked machinery and animals and now I’m learning a lot more about the science of farming,” Ollie said.
He’s also learning about the variety of jobs on the farm, from feeding to milking and cleaning to fencing, and he’s keen on learning more.
“I like being outside and working on my own,” he said. “I see my future if not in dairy, hopefully something in agriculture. Right now, dairy is a good path for me and opens up a lot of options in the Timboon area.”
Ollie said the course was helping his career progression. “RIST runs a good program and you get to learn a lot of practical stuff,” he said. “There’s not always time to learn everything on the farm so it’s good to have the background from the course.”
He said the DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship was particularly helpful. “It’s helping to pay for the fees for my education as well as the personal protection equipment that is required, and that doesn’t come cheap,” he said.
Applications for DemoDAIRY Foundation and Powell Legacy Fund scholarships can be made now and close in November. Visit the website https://www.demodairy.com.au