Agronomist

• Work for the largest grower of Almonds in Australia & 2nd largest globally
• Excellent opportunity for growth and development
• Competitive salary and benefits including utility vehicle

Are you passionate about sustainable agriculture and horticultural excellence?

We are looking for an Agronomist to join our dynamic team and lead the way in enhancing the productivity and quality of our almond orchards located near Griffith, New South Wales. Could this be the role for you?

About the role

The purpose of this role is to design, oversee and provide expert advice regarding the orchard Irrigation, orchard spray and nutrition program whilst monitoring, controlling, and reporting of pest and diseases in almonds to support tree health, yields and profitability on orchards. Our ideal candidate would be able to work autonomously in a hands-on capacity, spending 70% of their time in both orchards inspecting the trees and, conducting soil and leaf analysis (spending time only occasionally in the office).

This role has key accountabilities for:

Irrigation & Soil Nutrition

• Contributing to the development of a best practice management plan that achieves satisfactory production and yield results. Assisting in developing annual irrigation and nutrition programs and schedules by farm utilizing best practices.
• Guiding and monitoring on-farm activities to ensure the irrigation schedules are adhered to and review the tree health each season and recommend changes to agronomic practices to optimize tree health.

Pest & Disease

• Contributing to the development of a best practice management plan that achieves good production and yield results.
• Assisting in developing annual pest and disease programs and guide and monitor on farm-activities to ensure the tree health.

Field Operations Monitoring

• Managing a soil monitoring program, maintaining accurate data to allow for trend analysis, monitoring field data and applying recommendations to ensure maximum irrigation and fertigation efficiencies.
• Conducting crop inspections on over 3000 hectares of farmland, inspecting leaves and collecting data on pests, conducting trials on a timely basis.
• Expanding implementation of precision farming techniques and controlling and implementing best practice for wet area recuperation.

Expert Advice & Support

• Actively expanding understanding of irrigation horticulture practices related to almond production and agronomy through independent study, research, conferences and seminars.
• Providing advice to the Technical Services team particularly regarding current and new irrigation management, pest and diseases, fertigation, and soil amelioration requirements.
• Providing advice and support to on-farm management including regular training sessions.

Controls & Reporting

• Assisting the technical manager to forecast and track water use weekly, fortnightly, monthly, and yearly.
• Conducting monthly farm by farm analysis and review of agronomic practices across over 3000 hectares of farmland.

About you

To be considered for this role you should have a bachelor's degree in agronomy or related fields (ie. horticulture or agricultural science). In addition to:

• 1+ years' experience as an agronomy professional. Experience with any crop type will be considered.
• An understanding of the scientific principles under pinning broad scale, irrigated, horticultural production.
• Proficiency in data analysis and the use of agricultural software and technologies.
• A capability for project and cost management, from concept through to completion.

Most importantly you will have a passion for contributing to a healthy farm and working outdoors.

About the company

ofi is a leading global integrated supply chain manager, processor and grower of agricultural products and food ingredients, supplying various products across 16 platforms to over 13,000 customers worldwide. With a direct presence in more than 65 countries with sourcing and processing in most major producing countries, Olam has built a global leadership position in many of its businesses. In Australia & New Zealand, we operate in multiple products including coca, dairy, and almonds.

You must be confident of passing our pre-employment medical / drug screen as we have a zero-tolerance policy to drugs.