About Me

Associate Professor Amy Cosby is a Senior Research Fellow – Agri-tech Education and Extension at CQUniversity Australia with a Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Laws (Hons 1) and a PhD in Precision Agriculture. Amy is a leading practitioner and researcher in the field of student and teacher engagement within the agricultural industry and has extensive experience in leading large projects with a wide range of partners. Amy currently works with educators, researchers and industry professionals to develop innovative programs to increase the skills and knowledge of teachers and students in agricultural concepts, tools and systems. Amy has conducted numerous surveys with both educators and students to evaluate their current level of agricultural knowledge and perception of the industry from a range of rural and urban locations. Her objective is to use the knowledge derived from this research to design programs which showcase and attract the next generation agricultural workforce to the industry from diverse backgrounds. She has developed and implemented a range curriculum aligned agri-tech learning modules for university, VET and high school students. These modules aim to showcase the scientific and digital skills required in the agricultural industry to attract and build the capacity of the next generation workforce. This research aims to demonstrate that by exposing young people to agri-tech from an early age this will increase the adoption on technology across the agricultural supply chain as when these young people enter the workforce as they will be confident and skilled in the use of agri-tech.

General

Universities Studied At

University of New England

Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis: Developing a paddock-scale landscape risk assessment for managing Redheaded Cockchafer (Adoryphorus couloni) in dairy pastures using precision agriculture technologies.

Bachelor of Agriculture/Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours)
University of New England
Thesis: The legal implications of including soil carbon sequestration as a component of a potential Australian emissions trading scheme

Universities Worked At

Research Fellow and Project Manager – SMARTfarm Learning Hub

School of Education

University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351

Manager, School Engagement

Marketing, Advancement and Community Engagement Directorate

Federation University Australia, Churchill VIC 3842

Awards

· Runner-up Best Oral Presentation Agricultural Educators Symposium, Adelaide, 2018

· One of eight women chosen to participate in the NFF Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program, 2018

· One of seven Australian PhD students chosen to attend the Commonwealth Science Conference, Bangalore, India, 2014

· International Society of Precision Agriculture Outstanding Graduate Student Award 2014

· Winner 3 Minute Thesis Competition University of New England 2013

· Winner 3 Minute Thesis Competition School of Science and Technology 2013

· Keith and Dorothy McKay Travelling Scholarship 2013

· Australian Society of Agronomy Travel Bursary 2012

· Dairy Australia and GippsDairy Top-Up Scholarship 2011-2014

· Australian Postgraduate Award 2011

Industry Reports

Cosby, A. and Howard, T. (2019). Best practice land use planning. AgriFutures. Available at https://www.agrifutures.com.au/product/best-practice-land-use-planning/

Trotter, M., Cosby, A., Manning, J., Thomson, M., Trotter, T., Graz, P., Fogarty, E., Lobb, A. and Smart, A. (2018). Demonstrating the value of animal location and behaviour data in the red meat value chain. Commissioned by the Meat and Livestock Donor Company. Available at https://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/search-rd-reports/final-report-details/Demonstrating-the-value-of-animal-location-and-behaviour-data-in-the-red-meat-value-chain/3754

Lawson, A., Cosby, A., Baker, D., Leu, S,. Lefley, E., Euromonitor International, Sahota, A., and Bez, N. (2018). ‘Australian Organic Market Report 2018’, commissioned by Australian Organic Ltd. Available at http://austorganic.com/ao-market-report/

Recent Research Projects

Exploring a cotton agricultural traineeship model (CQU2303)

From: 13/10/2022 to 01/03/2023
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 1: Aust Competitive Grant)
Funding Schemes: CRDC 2223EOI0335 Investigation study – career pathways to support cotton workers on farms – what should (cotton) agricultural apprenticeships look like?
Total Funding: $92,463.00

Raising Aspirations in Careers and Education - Goulburn (RACE - Goulburn)

From: 03/10/2022 to 30/03/2024
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund Schools and Place-based Stream THROUGH Goulburn Murray LLEN
Total Funding: $190,000.00

How to attract and retain young people on cotton farms (CQU2301)

From: 01/10/2022 to 30/09/2024
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 1: Aust Competitive Grant)
Funding Schemes: CRDC 2223EOI0340 How to attract and retain young people on cotton farms
Total Funding: $239,969.00

Opportunities for greater diversity in the cotton workforce (CQU2302)

From: 29/09/2022 to 30/03/2023
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 1: Aust Competitive Grant)
Funding Schemes: CRDC 2223EOI0341 Scoping study - What are the opportunities for greater diversity in the cotton workforce?
Total Funding: $79,964.00

Female farmers of the future

From: 01/05/2022 to 01/05/2023
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Future Drought Fund Drought Resilience Innovation EOI - Ideas Grant
Total Funding: $50,000.00

Next Generation Farm Safety: Keeping Young People Safe in Agriculture (4-GK26OA8)

From: 10/02/2022 to 30/06/2023
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: DAWE 2021 National Farm Safety Education Fund
Total Funding: $310,942.00

Excited 4 Careers in Agriculture (NCIP11000280)

From: 01/12/2021 to 30/05/2023
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (Cth) - National Careers Institute Partnership Grant Round 2 2021
Total Funding: $522,842.00

Delivering best practice to manage future workforce skills

From: 01/10/2021 to 27/09/2024
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC)
Total Funding: $361,003.00

Accelerating the adopting of digital technology on Australian prawn farms

From: 06/05/2021 to 31/08/2022
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Agribusiness Digital Solutions Grants Program - QDAF
Total Funding: $185,000.00

Educating kids about agriculture: Development of agri-tech learning activities and evaluation of project (NT Farmers)

From: 07/09/2020 to 31/12/2022
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Schemes: Northern Territory Farmers (NT Farmers) - Contract Research
Total Funding: $105,000.00

Educating kids about agriculture: Development and evaluation of agri-tech learning activities

From: 01/09/2020 to 31/12/2022
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Schemes: AgForce Queensland
Total Funding: $380,000.00

Raising Aspirations in Careers and Education - Gippsland (RACE - Gippsland)

From: 30/06/2020 to 30/06/2023
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Victoria State Government - Raising Rural & Regional Student Aspirations
Total Funding: $479,183.94

Parasites in the Wild

From: 30/09/2020 to 30/11/2021
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Queensland Citizen Science Grants
Total Funding: $26,134.00

Gippsland ADAPT: Building Capacity in Youth to Respond to Climate Change Impact on Food and Fibre Production

From: 20/07/2020 to 31/01/2021
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Schemes: Food and Fibre Gippsland
Total Funding: $48,636.00

Assessing real time tracking technologies to integrate with identification methods and national traceability requirements

From: 15/06/2020 to 15/06/2021
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Schemes: Integrity Systems Company Limited
Total Funding: $88,883.00

CQU and Rabobank Teacher Farm Experience (FX) Program

From: 15/06/2019 to 31/12/2021
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Schemes: Rabobank Australia Limited
Total Funding: $180,000.00

Gippsland Industry Projects and Pathways for Youth in Agrifood

From: 20/01/2019 to 31/12/2019
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3)
Funding Schemes: East Gippsland Food Cluster
Total Funding: $130,000.00

WISE64904 - Women in Agri-tech: Increasing participation in the future of farming

From: 01/07/2018 to 30/06/2020
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Schemes: Department of Innovation,Industry and Science (DIIS)
Total Funding: $250,000.00

TeacherFX - Building the capacity of STEM and Digital Technologies teachers in Western Australia

From: 20/04/2018 to 31/12/2018
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3)
Funding Schemes: Rabobank Australia Limited
Total Funding: $12,000.00