WITH a fire in his stomach that ignites at the mention of agriculture, Jimmy Bidstrup’s background might surprise you for someone who “lives and breathes agriculture”.
For most people a love for agriculture stems back to their family heritage and upbringing.
For Jimmy this was not the case.
Despite being born and raised in Perth, from a young age Jimmy knew that he was destined for a future in agriculture and it seems a very promising one at that.
“I couldn’t see myself doing anything else but working in agriculture and I have known that since I was about 10-years-old,” Jimmy said.
“It is the people in the industry that keep me in it – I love the way they reflect my enthusiasm.
“They really get me motivated to continue contributing to the industry and to expand my skill set and knowledge.
“But it really comes down to a pure fascination for the land and the people that tend to it.”
Jimmy’s passion for the industry is so captivating that it’s hard to believe he is just 21 years of age and has already started to make a name for himself in agriculture – all thanks to his own motivation and networking.
This is despite not having a network in place that many country and farm kids have.
It was up to Jimmy to throw himself into the industry to build up his own network of contacts.
Driven by his passion for the land, livestock and crops, he has enjoyed the ride so far which had some exciting stops along the way.
Jimmy took every chance he could to visit friends’ farms and then completed his final year of high school at the WA College of Agriculture, Denmark.
From there he studied an agricultural science degree at The University of WA and his passion has paid off, as he recently moved to Esperance to start work as an agronomist with Elders.
As if a new job fresh out of university isn’t a big enough step, he has started studying economics part-time at Murdoch University.
“I like the idea that I can add value for farmers by providing a quality service where I am actually helping with their operation,” Jimmy said.
“But a farm is essentially a business first, so if I can relate to farmers in a business sense and help to understand their operation through further studies in the field of business, then I think that will be a way that I can help provide a good service to them.”
Jimmy’s desire to be involved in agriculture has also taken him interstate and overseas.
In 2014, when still in high school, he attended a conference with about 100 other students from around the country to discuss global food security in 2050.
Jimmy said being around other young people and professionals who shared a similar interest, accelerated his desire to be more involved.
“I met some incredible people who shared my passion and that trip really lit the fire for my agricultural passion,” he said.
At the age of 20 and in his second year of university, Jimmy won a scholarship to spend two weeks in Vietnam, learning about the country’s agribusiness sector.
In July he travelled to Argentina to study crop physiology and in August, he was sponsored by The Crawford Fund to attend its annual conference at Parliament House, titled ‘Reshaping Agriculture for Better Nutrition: The Agriculture, Food, Nutrition, Health Nexus’.
More recently Jimmy was named a finalist for EvokeAg’s Future Young Leaders program and has been invited to give a five-minute presentation at the Food, Farm, Future 2019 conference in February.
Jimmy was one of 10 people selected from across the country and one of two to be chosen by the public for the event.
He is also the only finalist from WA.
“I am looking forward to have the opportunity to interact with 50 world-class speakers, understand their topics of discussion and hopefully learn from the wealth of knowledge they offer,” he said.
“The chance to be able to bring back some of that knowledge to the Esperance region will be amazing.
“There are so many great farmers around Esperance who are willing to adopt new technologies so it will be fantastic to talk about the future with the way new research and technology can be applied.”
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Given his determination and fiery passion, it is not surprising that Jimmy wants to run a farm.
“My long-term goal is to be on my own land,” he said.
“I enjoy agronomy and don’t plan on stopping any time soon but it really is my dream to have my own property some day.”
Being an agronomist, it would be logical to assume Jimmy’s long-term dream is just on cropping, but it is more than that.
“It might seem a bit of a surprise coming from an agronomist but I love cattle – they’re incredible animals and I take every opportunity I can to work with them,” Jimmy said.
Jimmy hopes his journey will inspire other people from non-agricultural backgrounds to explore the industry.
“There seems to be a general misconception among people outside of the industry that agriculture is static, boring and uninteresting whereas in truth, it is incredibly dynamic and there are new opportunities and challenges to be faced every day,” he said.
“I hope to encourage more metropolitan people to get out to the bush and gain a better relationship with the land, start to break down those barriers and understand what agriculture is really about.
“If I can inspire one person to find a love for agriculture like I have, then that would be a pretty awesome feeling.”