Dairy Careers

Nearly 200 students from Colac, Timboon, Camperdown, Apollo Bay and Lavers Hill will learn how important maths and science are in the dairy industry at an expo in Colac on Tuesday.  The 184 Year 7 students will experience 23 different interactive presentations from dairy farmers, service providers and processors.  The expo is part of Maths and Science @ Work a program developed in partnership between the dairy industry, Colac Secondary College, Timboon P-12 and Camperdown College and South West Local Learning and Employment Network.  WestVic Dairy secured funds from Schools Connect Australia to deliver the program which will feature three expos over the next three years. Further expos will be held in Timboon and Camperdown in 2014 and 2015. Year 7 students from all three schools will attend each expo.  The project is the first of its type in Australia and could be used as a prototype for similar events to promote maths and science education in other agricultural industries.

Larpent dairy farmer Mark Billing sees maths and science at work on his farm every time he calculates his cows’ feeding rations or his pasture fertiliser rates.  With two computers running his dairy and an increasing focus on the biology of his plants, Mr Billing knows that a good grounding in maths and science is essential to good dairy farming.  Speaking at the launch of the Maths & Science @ Work expo in Colac, Mr Billing said he couldn’t operate a successful business without this technical background. “It’s more important now than ever before with farms using more technology and needing to make sure everything is as perfect as possible,” Mr Billing said.

The Timboon P-12 School is a finalist in two categories of the Victorian Education Excellence Awards 2013 for its Timboon Agriculture Project. The Awards will be announced at a dinner on 17 May.  The Timboon Agriculture Project, delivered at the Timboon P-12 School, has already received considerable acclaim. It is an initiative of WestVic Dairy’s Promoting Dairy Careers project, funded in its scoping phase (2012/13) by the Gardiner Foundation. Timboon P-12 School was nominated and shortlisted for two awards, and has now been selected as one of three finalists in each category.

Future leaders from the dairy industry will get a helping hand in a new program offered by WestVic Dairy.

The focus of LeadIn is on introductory leadership skills and covers topics such as developing effective teams, developing good working relationships, organising agendas and meetings, making presentations, managing conflict, and effective communication skills.

Timboon P-12 students are moving out into the farming world for help to develop a unique agricultural precinct at the school.The school is forging strong links with local farms and agricultural businesses which will include a group of Year 9 students getting first-hand experience at the Sungold Field Days on February 15.The students will be getting hints for the type of agricultural project they will develop at the school while also learning how service providers support the dairy industry and about the technical, processing and capital equipment decisions farmers have to make.The Timboon P-12 Agriculture Project (TAP) is being rolled out in the school this year with support from WestVic Dairy, the Gardiner Foundation, a State Government Empowering Local Communities grant and the local community.

Timboon P-12 School will develop an agricultural precinct and integrate agriculture into the school curriculum in a unique project that links students to local industry.The school is developing the Timboon P-12 Agriculture Project (TAP) in conjunction with its school community, WestVic Dairy and the Gardiner Foundation.  The project aims to develop a greater understanding of the impact that agriculture, particularly dairy, has in the region, including its importance in the long-term sustainability of the community and how it relates to different facets of education.  It will highlight educational pathways for agricultural careers and aims to increase student awareness of careers in agriculture.

Primary school children from Nullawarre will adopt a cow and follow its progress over the next two years as part of a new program giving them an early insight into the dairy industry.

The new kids@demoDAIRY program has been developed from a desire of parents to introduce their children at an early age to the varied and rewarding careers in dairying.

The year five and six Nullawarre pupils will visit DemoDAIRY eight times over the next two years as part of the WestVic Dairy careers project where they will learn about different jobs in the industry and follow the progress of the herd and research being undertaken on the farm.