FARM

The rainfall throughout the week was welcome, with Wednesday recording a significant 49 mm. This was particularly encouraging, with creeks now flowing and indicating improved water availability across the property. The timing was also beneficial, as we recently applied fertiliser to several grazing and hay paddocks, supporting nutrient uptake and pasture growth and helping prepare paddocks for the upcoming hay and silage season.

Sheep

Rain has been very welcome in the sheep enterprise, with pastures responding well and the hay paddocks looking particularly promising. Mr Adams is preparing to wean the lambs over the coming weeks, with students assisting throughout. The health, growth, and overall condition of the lambs continue to be monitored daily to ensure they are in suitable condition for weaning and to identify any issues early.

With the Royal Perth Show approaching, preparations are also well underway. We are carefully selecting and preparing the best fleeces for entry in the Very Fine Wool category (17-19 microns), while preparing the show ewes for competition. We are hoping for another successful showing this year.

Horticulture

We harvested more strawberries this week, and production continues well. The lettuce crop is also performing strongly, while the second crop of cucumbers has produced its first half-dozen fruits. These crops continue to benefit from the warm conditions provided by our hothouse.

It is also good to see mulberries beginning to form on our three trees. These trees provide the fruit used to make our mulberry jam, which is always popular and never seems to last long because of its delicious flavour.

Beef

The Beef section has been busy managing and treating foot-rot cases, which remains an ongoing challenge after the recent wet weather. Students have been actively assisting with trough and fence maintenance.

Students have been busy preparing the steers for the Royal Perth Show. This has included grooming and fitting nose rings to ensure the steers are competition-ready. The students have shown great commitment by helping ensure the animals are well-prepared to represent the College.

Dairy

This week at the Dairy, the milking herd has been sorted, with many new cows joining the herd after giving birth to healthy calves. The feeder issue has been repaired, while the Dairy team has stayed busy with the artificial insemination (AI) program.

Older calves have been moved from the calf shed to the hay shed, allowing the shed to be cleaned and rested; this will help support the health and wellbeing of future calves.

Milk quality has been excellent, with the herd recording its lowest cell count in a long time. Wet conditions on the flatter ground can increase the risk of hoof problems, so to help manage this, we are grazing cattle on the hills both day and night.

Pigs

Our pigs are performing very well, with an average weight gain of 5 kg recorded over the past week. The five new pigs that arrived the week before last and are being prepared for the Royal Perth Show are currently exceeding expectations in growth and condition.

Students attending the Royal Perth Show with the pigs had the opportunity to work closely with the show animals, including washing, grooming, and leading them. 

Workshop

We completed repairs to the two smaller trucks this week during the wet weather. We replaced the Isuzu tipper truck's tailgate locking pin, ensuring the tailgate now operates correctly during tipping. We also repaired the Hino flatbed truck so the gates swing and close properly. 

We introduced a pack-out system to organise better and manage the workshop's power tools, improving access and inventory control. In addition, we fabricated a frame to support an outdoor sink that will be installed in the shade house, providing a water source for plant maintenance and irrigation.