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F A R M S K I L L S
Sophie Throup
FarmSkills Training Co-ordinator
A recent report by LANTRA LandSkills stated:
‘It is well evidenced that a well-trained, skilled workforce has
been linked to higher productivity. Skills can account for around
an 8% productivity difference between well performing and
poorly performing organisations.’
As well as increasing productivity, training has been shown to contribute
to workplace survival by reducing the chances of a business shutting
down by around 50%. And while increasing skills of employees could
lead to an increase in wages, research has shown that benefits to the
employer in increased productivity exceed any increase in wages.
Farm
Skills
Training
FarmSkills
courses from XLVets, are run
across the country and seek to improve
the skills levels of the farming workforce,
whether in DIY AI and foot trimming or
staff management, book-keeping and
accounts and nutritional strategy planning.
Run on-farm and led by vets and industry
leaders, the courses teach to a set
learning outcome so you can be sure you
will cover the same information whether
you're in Scotland or Southampton.
Increasing numbers of farmers are also
choosing to study groups of FarmSkills
courses together and achieve a LANTRA
Awards certificate, which can be useful
for personal satisfaction or for the
career stockperson.
XLVets practices around the country have
been engaging in FarmSkills training -
here are some updates from them.
Synergy Farm Health
- 7th January 2010
Maximising lamb and kid survival
We started by discussing how to revive the
lamb or kid that is sluggish at birth, and
then had a practical session using dead
newborn lambs to explore common causes
of death and to practise using a stomach
tube and administering intra-peritoneal
glucose injections. Participants then used
a list of the major risks to lamb and kid
survival to score the risks on their farms, so
we could focus our discussion on practical
ways to minimise these risks. After lunch
we looked at feeding the ewe or doe and
preparation for lambing/kidding.
Throughout we used training methods that
encourage interaction and we focussed on
practical techniques to improve results in
the individual flock. This was the first in
a series of sheep workshops that, together,
will build into a comprehensive flock
health plan.
Kat Bazeley
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
Scarsdale Veterinary Group
- 7th January 2010
Mastitis and the dry cow
The fourth module of the FarmSkills
herdsman certificate run by Scarsdale
was held on the 7th January. A variety
of people attended including owners of
smaller family run farms, farm staff from
larger herds and one chap who has
returned to dairying after a few years
out of the industry.
The morning session was held at the
practice and kicked off with small group
discussions based around a set of
questions. This gave us a bit of an idea
of what each farm was already doing in
terms of mastitis control and record
keeping. James Breen of Nottingham Vet
School then led a presentation on getting
the most from your records and mastitis
costings. We learnt that it is very important
to define where the mastitis is predominantly
coming from on your farm i.e. is it from the
dry period or of lactational origin
?
This
information then helps us to put the relevant
control measures in place - what works for
one farm does not necessarily work for
another. James also demonstrated some
benchmarking of data from the farms of the
attendees to make it more relevant and to
engage the trainees further.
Despite the snow and a slightly hairy
drive, the afternoon session was held at
the highest dairy farm in our patch.
Following a hearty lunch in the farm
kitchen, we began with a farm walk
looking specifically at the environment
with respect to mastitis risk factors. This
was followed by an interactive practical
session in the parlour covering gold
standard drying off technique, how to take
a sterile milk sample and getting the best
from your California mastitis test. All of the
people who attended the course said that
they would be interested in attending
future modules.
Rose Jackson
Below:
Alex, one of the course attendees demonstrates
his gold standard drying off technique.
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LIVESTOCK MATTERS