Farm Enterprises
Sheep
Wagin Woolorama is fast approaching, and students have been preparing by practicing their shearing and wool handling and getting expert advice on Meat Sheep judging from Mr Jasper. Students will travel to Wagin the on 8th of March 2025 to compete. Parents, please keep your eye out for the Consent2Go email to give your child permission to attend.
Shearing inductions have continued for Year 11s with students sorting out who is interested in shearing and who prefers to handle the wool. Either way - they are doing a great job in the shed! Year 12s completing their Cert III in Wool handling and their Cert II in Shearing and Wool handling are busy honing their skills and getting expert advice along the way. After school classes with Owen Snook are also showing their dedication to the qualification. The sheep/wool industry is hard work, but hopefully some of these young adults will end up there and keep our sheep flocks going.
Grains
Spreading and spraying is still underway with Year 12s getting a chance to operate the machinery for their Cert III in Agriculture units. Year 11s have been learning about chemical safety and batching, to go out and spray laneways and firebreaks.
Cattle
Feeding and checking continues with Year 11s learning what to look for when observing livestock, and the Year 12s are working on their tractor driving and nutritional knowledge, to complete their 'Provide Feed for Livestock' and 'Operate Tractors' competencies. A big thank you to Miss Baker and Mr West who have stepped up and completed these tasks with students while we don't have a dedicated Cattle Technical Officer (TO).
Piggery
What a busy week it's been at the piggery! From finishers being weighed and sent off to market, to cleaning production sheds, vaccinating porkers, and administering Regumate to introduce new gilts into the breeding herd—it’s been all hands-on deck! And let’s not forget weaning a new batch of piglets. Busy, but productive!
A huge shoutout to our Year 12s, who’ve been absolutely on top of their pig-related competencies for their Certificate II. Your hard work is paying off, and we couldn’t be prouder of your dedication! A special mention to our Pork Production Certificate III's — you’ve made a flying start and are already showing incredible enthusiasm! Keep it up, everyone; your passion for the pork industry is great to see!!
A warm welcome to the Year 11s! For some of you, it was your very first time seeing a pig, and we’re so impressed by your curiosity and eagerness to learn. You’re off to an excellent start, and we can't wait to see what you accomplish!
Looking ahead, next week we’ll be sending off more finishers to Linley Valley, conducting pregnancy testing, vaccinating, administering Regumate, and mixing up batches. We’ll also be working closely with students to build practical skills and share essential industry knowledge.
Excited for all the learning and hard work ahead — let’s continue this momentum!
General and Workshop
Year 11s are completing their driving tests to obtain their Red Driving Permit and practicing for when they can progress to their 'Yellows'. This involves a lot of excitement and a lot of nerves! It's one thing driving a vehicle around the farm at home, but it's another thing driving with 4 other people in the vehicle and having to stick to the strict rules. So far, all the Year 11 students are doing great!
Year 12s are carrying on with workshop projects and have been involved with carting straw for the piggery using the front-end loader and the two trucks.