FARM

Bradley.Falkingham@education.wa.edu.au

After a successful Open Day, we welcomed some soaking rain to kick off the season, with pastures sown on the flats.  In Horticulture, the students managed to seed the veggie patch with shallots and beetroot just in time—before the ground became too wet to work.

 

With rain and sunshine now on the cards, we’ve got our fingers crossed for some good pasture growth.  The old saying is;  'Wet and dry makes APPLE PIE 🍪'

 

2025 WorldSkills Presentation

Will McLarty, Chelsea Bario and Aiden Tracey are the only entrants from WA representing the field of Agriculture in WorldSkills Australia VETiS Primary Industries Regional Competition. Over the past four months, Mr Howell has been working closely with them, providing guidance and support to ensure they are well-prepared for the event.

 

On Wednesday evening, Will, Chelsea, and Aiden attended a special presentation at Parliament House as part of the VETiS team event.

We wish Will, Chelsea and Aiden all the best in the competition next week. 

 

Beef

Over the course of the next few weeks there will be a number of AI cycles that students will be involved with.  On Monday and Tuesday the CIDRs were removed and injections administered. This was followed by blanket AI on Thursday—first with the first-time calvers in the morning, and then the replacement heifers in the afternoon. This process gave students the opportunity to assist Farm West technicians with preparing and loading AI guns.  

 

AI provides us the opportunity to select superior sires to improve our beef herd. It also provides valuable learning about reproductive cycles and the physiological processes involved.

We would like to thank Farm West for their continued support of our Beef Breeding Program each year.

 

Dairy

It's been a busy time at the Dairy with calving, drying off of cows, AI of milking cows, preparing heifers for breeding next week, all while keeping up with the daily grind of everyday jobs. 

 

Sheep

Our Poll Merino ewes have started to lamb this week and our crossbred lambs from the terminal flock are nearly finished. Lamb marking is just around the corner—weather permitting.

First Merino lamb
First Merino lamb

Farm Funding

We’re currently reviewing our Farm Trust funding priorities. The focus is on identifying what’s needed across our enterprises to support student learning outcomes and ensure all sections meet industry standards.

 

Weekend Stock Roster