[2][3] Birrell grew up on a property on Victoria's Goulburn River between the towns of Murchison and Toolamba.
He attended Shepparton High School for two years then completed his secondary education as a boarder at Assumption College, Kilmore.
After leaving high school, Birrell worked on a farm in Ardmona for two years before completing a degree in agricultural science at the University of Melbourne's Dookie campus.
[5] After graduating university, Birrell worked as an agronomist for a rural supplies business, specialising in pest identification and soil and leaf analysis.
[8] Birrell supported a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for the Goulburn Valley.