I enjoyed the four year course in Agricultural Science at the University of Sydney and graduated in 1975. (I took two years off during the course for personal reasons and spent 18 months working as a Technical Officer in soil microbiology for NSW Dept of Agriculture. The other six months of the two years I worked on various rural properties to satisfy the 26 week practical agriculture requirement prior to graduation.)

In February 1975, I set off for Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands to start my professional career as a Soil Conservationist with the Soil Conservation Service of NSW. The work was mainly in soil erosion and sediment control, earthworks, mine rehabilitation, farm planning and agriculture. I loved it and became totally absorbed in that and Glen Innes society.

After six years, I was transferred to Gunnedah for 12 months and then Scone in the Hunter Valley. During my four years at Scone as the Land Resource Planner, I was involved in many fascinating projects. The NSW Government had purchased the large rural property, Camden Park Estate, from the descendants of the pioneering Macarthur family. I prepared a farm plan of the property for the NSW Dept of Agriculture while it was transformed to become the Department showpiece now known as the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute. From there I was sent to Fairfield to assist the Council with the development of a City Farm, now known as Calmsley Hill City Farm.

In 1986, I resigned from the Soil Conservation Service and returned to my home town of Nowra to assist in caring for my elderly father. I had some regrets in leaving SCS as it had been an excellent training ground, but I did not see my future sitting at a desk. I wanted to be out in the field.

In mid-1986, I set up as an Agricultural & Environmental Consultant registered as Peter Cowman & Associates in Nowra. The business slowly grew, mainly working for Sydney consultancies who had no presence on the South Coast. However, in 1989 the business really took off with several unrelated factors:

1. I had thought for some time that there was an opening for a town planning consultant in the district and the perfect person dropped out of the sky. Ernie Royston was the Chief Town Planner at Bega Valley Shire Council and resigned to join me in business. We became Cowman & Royston Pty Ltd; Town Planning, Agricultural and Environmental Consultants.

2. The other happening in 1989 was that the Farmland Rates Scheme commenced and it had a major impact on my life. It has taken me all over NSW to workshops, conferences and court houses. Essentially, the Rural Rates Scheme collapsed in 1988 and the State Government decided to introduce a new scheme to replace it (S.515 LGA 1993). It affects every landowner in NSW who owns rural land and pays Council rates. I became deeply involved in the scheme from the outset and introduced it to many local government areas. For me it has two attractions:

   • It reduces Council rates for genuine producers.

   • It encourages agricultural use of rural land.

   Almost from 1989 I was passionate about it, and it then became an obsession to ensure it was administered fairly and not corrupted, like the previous scheme. This is my pet project and I am still the advisor to many councils after 30 years.

3. Mining rehabilitation was back on the agenda and for most of the 1990s I was involved in the Wollongong District working for mining companies.

In the mid 90s, domestic effluent disposal where sewer was not available became more important for the local councils. In the late 90s, mine rehabilitation started to decline so we decided to redirect the young graduate working on that programme into effluent disposal.

The planning section of the firm went from strength to strength and two planners are currently directors of the firm and own the business which employs five professional and two secretarial staff – Cowman Stoddart Pty Ltd, Town Planning, Agricultural & Environmental Consultants. (Ernie Royston was poached by Shoalhaven City Council in 1992 as the new City Planner and his place was taken by Colin Stoddart, Deputy Chief Planner at Kiama Council.)

In hindsight, I have been blessed with wonderful people to work with and an interesting and fulfilling career. The agriculture degree provided the basic knowledge for 50 years of working life in applied agriculture.