How do we ditch the paddock nostalgia and pitchforks? Here’s why Australia needs the National Schools Food and Fibre Education Strategy

The National Schools Food and Fibre Education Strategy is a bold step toward bridging the gap between classrooms and rural industries – we sat down with Brooke Hermans, Senior Consultant at RMCG, to explore why this strategy matters, what’s driving it and how it aims to inspire the next generation of ag leaders.

Brooke, how did you first get involved in this work – and what was the turning point that kicked off this massive project in the first place?

Engagement and developing strategy has kind of always been what I do. I work for an agricultural consultancy, so I’m in the agricultural space a lot. I’ve combined my previous experience in schools with my experience in bringing stakeholders along to develop strategy.

I think for the research and development corporations, there were a range of influences pushing them to develop a strategy – they’re aware of the ongoing workforce challenge in attracting people to work in food and fibre, and the growing disconnect between regional and urban areas. People don’t have the chance to connect with agriculture like they once did. And many now don’t get that exposure at all.

Once upon a time – think when I went to school or my dad did – the teacher probably came off a farm, they could confidently talk about food and fibre production, or maybe their grandfather worked in forestry – there were more of those connections. As the majority of our population becomes more urbanised, more people live in cities, which results in low agricultural literacy and often really outdated perceptions of farming and career opportunities in ag.

So what impact is that disconnect having on kids and teachers? Are we talking ‘strawberry milk comes from pink cows’?

Well, in 2022, research from CQUniversity found that 60% of primary age kids still think cows are being milked by hand into a bucket.

One presenter at the PIEFA Conference – that I presented the Strategy at recently – asked everyone in the room to draw a farmer – then asked for a show of hands of those who drew a man with a pitchfork!

In education, that plays out as fewer teachers having any connection to food and fibre production, so they’re not confident teaching it. I talked to a textiles teacher from Broadmeadows – she lives on a farm, and she’s doing great wool education projects in class. But she said to me she’s probably the only teacher in her school who’s been on a farm. It’s difficult to expect someone to teach food and fibre without experience. We’ve got to change that. Confidence comes from connection with food and fibre.

Why does exposure and experience matter so much? 

If you were exposed to ag from a young age, that shapes your understanding of the world and how it works – kids start imagining their futures really young. They say by 14, kids have a pretty fixed worldview. Your exposure to agriculture matters because it helps you see that pathway, and the same goes for parents who might not see a pathway in ag either. So it’s not just about kids and teachers – we have to influence parents too!

What kind of opportunities do you think this program will open up for young people, once it’s finished?

In a broad sense, it’s about inspiring people to work in food and fibre across the whole supply chain. That can be everything from agtech to research, finance, sustainability, and hands-on innovation on farms. But the same CQUniversity study I mentioned before found that secondary students really struggle to identify less obvious career paths in the ag sector, like finance and journalism and even ‘science’ more broadly.

Agriculture has roles in sustainability, food security – it’s not Old McDonald’s farm. There are huge opportunities to help shape the future of Australia that already exist, we’re not creating jobs out of thin air, they’re already there! Right now, we’re not giving the kids the chance to see that – we need to inspire them.

That’s a big job! Where are you up to now?

We’re trying to break it into steps. The RDCs are writing a strategy, and the draft comes out in late July. People are committed. And we’ve had great engagement – 290 school-based survey responses, 100-plus discussion paper submissions. There are amazing educators doing incredible work. But without champions in schools, it’s not consistent. Giving teachers more resources and lesson plans isn’t enough. If we don’t shift those big misconceptions, nothing else will work – without deep change, it won’t stick.

Brooke Hermans has over 20 years’ experience in strategic planning, management and stakeholder engagement experience in the public and private sectors, including working on the National Schools Food and Fibre Education Strategy.

The Strategy is a cross-industry initiative led by Australia’s fifteen Research and Development Corporations (RDCs).  The draft Strategy, including detailed actions, governance and monitoring arrangements, will be released for public comment in late July 2025.

Learn more about the National Schools Food and Fibre Education Strategy
Read the AgriFutures’ report Cultivating the next generation: The role of school-based educators in promoting agricultural careers
Learn more about the Primary Industries Education Foundation (PIEFA)