Meet the Team: Jess Bidstrup

Demi Taylor
administrator
Views

BCG is pleased to welcome Jess Bidstrup to the team, to the position of Communications and Engagement Officer.

What is your background?

I grew up on a sheep and cattle station and broadacre/sheep farms across South Australia and Victoria. My family moved to Birchip when I was in primary school.

I relocated to Adelaide in 2015 and started my career in communications, technology, and digital media. My previous experience has been working in the agriculture space, delivering digital solutions that aim to solve problems such as workforce shortages, biosecurity concerns, producer training and educating people how food is grown.

Over the years I have run projects with a variety of technical and cross-functional teams, working for state and federal governments, agricultural industry bodies and tertiary educational institutions. I was fortunate enough to learn my skills on the job, completing supplementary courses online in fields such as graphic design and project management to enhance my knowledge.

I returned to Birchip to work the 2023 harvest season at GrainFlow and fell back in love with the country lifestyle!

What is your role at BCG and what will you be doing?

My role at BCG is Communications and Engagement Officer, and I’ll work with the extension team to connect with growers in innovative and meaningful ways. My time will be spent creating content for our social media channels, working on projects with communications requirements, and in the field at events.

What about the role interested you in applying?

I am someone who loves to learn and values variety in their work, so I was excited to see the range of skills BCG was looking for in this position. The intersection of digital media and the agriculture industry is well aligned to my career, and I was excited by the opportunity to give back to my home community whilst continuing to grow my skills.

After doing some further research into the organisation, the value statement ‘honesty and courage’ resonated with me; I believe in all aspects of our lives, we need to have the courage to do what we believe is right, and tell the truth.

What are your interests outside work?

Outside of work I enjoy cooking, taking care of my veggie garden, spending time with my pets, reading, and going hiking, camping, and fishing with friends and family.

What are you looking forward to whilst working at BCG?

My previous communications experience has predominately been with industry bodies working on consumer outreach campaigns; so, I am looking forward to engaging with local growers on a grassroots level, and helping the BCG team share the research that allows our farmers to overcome the challenges they face day to day. I’m inspired by the AgTech space and I’m hoping there will be opportunities for me to pursue this interest within this role.

I have also been involved in events and communications for the Young Farmer Network program over the last few weeks, which I’m very passionate about, so I’m looking forward to continuing being a part of this.

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