PROFILE OF A MANAGER - GENETICS DATABASE

Robert grew up on a wheat and sheep farm. About year 9 at the local high school, he decided he wanted to study agriculture. He wanted to focus his study on areas relating to farming.

During his Agriculture Science course, he took advantage of the work experience requirement to work on dairy farms and included several project related to the dairy industry in his study. Robert said this gave him a good understanding of the science and technology of three major agricultural commodities - wool, grain and dairy.

On graduation, he joined the Australian Jersey Breeders Society as Executive Officer. From there he moved to the Rural Finance Corporation as regional manager in a major grain growing area where he worked with farmers seeking finance for their businesses.

As Executive Officer, Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS), Robert is responsible for managing the independent assessment of the genetic merit of Australian dairy herds. The ADHIS has a database of information relating to 7 million dairy cows, 1 million are currently in production in Australian herds.

Robert believes there are many opportunities for young people in agriculture and related areas.