Emily Walsh is a prime example of someone who builds a career in the dairy industry without milking cows.
With the support of a DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship, Emily has forged a strong career as an agronomist after earlier working at a variety of jobs from car sales to being a governess on a Queensland cattle station.
After more than five years with Webber and Chivell in Cobden, Emily recently moved to Apsley to live with her fiancée and has joined Vickery Bros.
While her work with Webber and Chivell was predominantly with dairy farmers, along with a few potato farms, Emily’s new clientele is more varied, including beef, sheep and pastures as well as dairy.
Raised on a dairy farm at Chocolyn, Emily started work alongside three agronomists at Webber and Chivell even before she had a qualification, but with the support of the team and a DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship, she was able to add to her knowledge.
“When I started at the start of 2021, I didn’t know much but my knowledge base expanded with the business and the farmers I worked with and I started studying a Diploma of Applied Agronomy through Longerenong College online at the end of 2021 and finished in 2023,” she said.
While studying remotely and working with an expanding client base was a time challenge, Emily says the course was a perfect back-up for her practical experience.
“Any kind of study always helps, along with the support of mentors, farmers and colleagues,”
she said. “I’m forever indebted to DemoDAIRY foundation and Webber and Chivell for the starting foundations for my career.”
Her love of agronomy keeps getting stronger. “I absolutely love it, especially working in more intense, fast-acting enterprises like dairy,” she said.
With her wedding set for November 7, Emily is enjoying working with a new set of clients who are experiencing a good season. “The season is going really well, which is a nice change after the drought. There have been milder conditions this year so the agriculture section I’m working with is in a good position for recovering from the drought.”
Apart from her study scholarship, Emily was also supported by DemoDAIRY Foundation to attend two Cream of the Crop conferences.
DemoDAIRY Foundation will wind up in 2027. It is no longer offering scholarships but will consider study tour grants for farmer groups or individuals to learn about dairying and farm business management in other areas.
