A Mid North regional internship is giving agricultural science graduates a head start in the SA grains industry by offering a paid 12-month, applied grains research and development work placement.
Applications are now open for the 2020 Hart Regional Internship, based in Clare, working with the Hart Field-Site Group and collaborating with researchers, industry, consultants and growers to deliver research projects in regional SA.
The successful applicant would undertake a tailored internship, contributing to research in areas such as weed management and control; soil fertility and crop nutrition; crop entomology; agronomy and seeding systems.
2019 Hart regional intern Jade Rose says the experience has been positive on all fronts.
"I have found the internship very beneficial in terms of improving my research skills, practical skills, and understanding agriculture from a research/industry and grower perspective," she said
"It has enabled me to gain a lot of new skills in field trial research and management, communication and I have learned a lot about agricultural research.
"Learning practical skills, working regionally and having interaction with numerous researchers, industry, agronomists and growers has been extremely important to my development as a researcher.
"Living and working in the Mid North has been great for personal growth, putting me outside my comfort zone and learning a lot about myself.
"I've loved working at Hart, everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and are a great and passionate group of people to work with."
The Hart Regional Internship was developed by SAGIT, Hart Field-Site Group and SARDI, with the first regional intern joining the Hart team in 2016.
SAGIT chair Max Young said the internship provided graduates with an opportunity to work in a highly-respected organisation and alongside Hart's research and extension manager Sarah Noack in valuable, grass-roots research.
"The Hart internship provides a young agricultural science graduate with the unique opportunity to work with a progressive group of farmers and a respected researcher in Sarah Noack at a regional research site," he said.
"The range of research conducted at Hart and the group's interaction with other research bodies makes this internship a very valuable experience."
The Hart regional internship is open for applications from students who have completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences or equivalent in the past five years.
The 2020 internship starts in February next year and research options can be tailored to the successful applicant's specific interests.
Applications close on August 30.
- Details: hartfieldsite.org.au