Kevin Rudd, at CSU’s Bathurst base this week for a community Cabinet meeting, discussed the issue with the university’s vice-chancellor and president, Professor Ian Goulter, at a private meeting on Monday evening without making any commitment.

The university – which already has other campuses at Wagga Wagga, Albury and in the ACT – had planned to merge with the Lismore-based Southern Cross University (SCU) to form an Australia-wide institution, until SCU pulled out in July.

While more than 100 graduate positions for agricultural students are expected to remain vacant in the coming year at tertiary institutions across Australia, agriculture-related course applications at CSU have defied this trend, rising by at least 10 per cent.

This is despite CSU taking a hard line and adding extra years to already lengthy study programs, including agronomy and veterinary degrees.

The traditionally un-sexy Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree, which stocked the farm sector’s dwindling agronomy ranks, had 64 applicants at CSU so far.

That is already 14 more than this year’s intake, and applications will not close for another 10 weeks.

In his private meeting with Professor Goulter, before the community forum, Mr Rudd was happy to discuss the possibility of the university going national.

He had arrived at CSU’s Bathurst campus with most members of his Cabinet to answer questions from community representatives.

Professor Goulter said enrolment figures showed applications for all agriculture-related courses for 2010 had already grown 10pc, and could be much higher by January.

Equine science applications had almost doubled in number to 40 in the past five years at CSU.

Demand for the horse course next year was up 20 per cent on this year’s figure, while interest in the new agricultural business management degree had so far increased by eight per cent.

A total of 300 students had applied for 50 veterinary science positions in 2010, even though the university changed it from a five-year to a six-year course in 2005.

Meanwhile, the agricultural science degree would be extended also from three years to four years from next semester, which would include six months of industry-related practical experience.

The extra 12 months would concentrate on large-farm animal production and only students with an agricultural vocation were being accepted.