Arthur Blewett, the chief executive of AgriFood Skills – the industry skills council for agriculture, food processing, meat, seafood and racing – says the drought and the general population drift to urban areas have left his industries understaffed in some areas.

We’re looking for higher skill levels in agriculture than we have had traditionally,” Blewett says in The Australian Financial Review on Friday.

The merging of large-scale farm operations brings with it a demand for business management and corporatisation skills.

“We are looking for people who can run businesses and understand technology and biotechnology,” he says. “Areas like irrigation are run from a laptop these days.”