Some universities report intake levels increasing by as much as 75 per cent in the past two years.

Charles Sturt University has experienced a surge, with its Wagga campus reporting a 13 per cent increase in applications. The most popular courses are veterinary science, animal science and agriculture.

Australian Farm Institute director Mick Keogh said there had been a significant growth in the demand for agricultural graduates in recent years. “Not so much on-farm; the number of people employed at farm level has been relatively stable,” he said. 

“It seems the growth is very much in the service industry.”

Mr Keogh said farmers were increasingly outsourcing roles like advice, and well as looking at contractors for livestock and harvest jobs, which has created a number of job opportunities in the sector. “We’re certainly seeing an increase in university enrollments,” he said. Mr Keogh said nationally there was a low point in enrollments in 2011 and 2012 for most of the major agriculture-oriented faculties.

The University of Adelaide has noted a boost in the numbers of students, with the Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences experiencing a lift of 20 per cent from 2015, and a jump of 75pc from its 2014 intake. This year there have been 93 offers made in the course.