Farm Enterprises

Fire Awareness Training

Tuesday this week saw our first group of Year 11s complete the Fire Awareness training with John Idland, the Community Emergency Services Manager for Cunderdin, Quairading and Tammin.  Our second group undertake their training next Tuesday.  This course will benefit all students who may be required to attend fires on properties they're working on during harvest, by giving them the training required to be able to safely enter a fireground.

Grains

Well, it's that time of the year again ... students and staff are busy preparing for harvest. Crops are being eagerly inspected, machinery is being prepared, field bins are moving, and livestock enterprises are planning their stubble grazing plans.

There is a harvest sign-up sheet on the notice board in the farm workshop for the Year 11s who wish to take part in harvesting activities.  We need to start working on this roster very soon, so get your names down quick!

The new John Deere 460M baler has made us 543 rolls this year, with Fred and Mr de Beer pumping these out over the holidays just in time to beat this last rain!

With harvest brings a bit of roster changing, and larger farm groups.  This is to account for harvest staff only being able to take one student on each machine.  Please be patient and keep an ear out for group changes in the morning roll call meetings.

Cattle

Mrs Moore and students have made a lot of bovine friends after treating them all with fly treatment to give them some relief from the gazillion pests annoying each animal!  They have picked up in condition already and can relax a bit throughout the day.  Mrs Moore has done a great job taking over the cattle enterprise and her plans for the future should be exciting for the students!

Rhino, the aptly named bull loaned to us this season by Harvey Ag, has made the trip back to the land of green grass and was very happy to get off the truck back at home.  Thanks to Mr Marshall for making this trip last week.  We look forward to seeing the calves he has sired start arriving in May next year.  A huge thank you to WACoA Harvey for helping us out when we were in need.

Sheep

Shearing continues for the Year 11s, with lambs being weaned and the lighter ones shorn to aide in improving their production.  Miss Baker is embracing the new EID tag technology to track weight gain in the weaners and will be adjusting rations to suit the weight ranges within each mob.  A focus on getting lambs ready for sale as quickly as possible will result in some great data for class, I'm sure!  

Piggery                                                                                                                                        Miss Read

The school holidays for the pig and pork production students, was no spring break, with 6 of our best finisher pigs, 5 Cunderdin Ag students, and 7 York District High School students off to the Perth Royal Show to compete in the Pigs in School program in its second year. 

The week started very well with one of the Cunderdin pigs winning the “on-the-hoof” with a score of 95/100. Pigs were judged for market suitability, temperament, live weight, presentation and handler skill. 

York DHS placed first in the presentation component, with Cunderdin placing second, speaking about pig breeds, their origin and attributes in the pork meat market.

On the final day of the show, pigs were judged at Linley Valley abattoir, “on-the-hook”. The winning pig was a Cunderdin pig with a score of 68/70. Judged for eye muscle area, carcass composition, meat quality, fat depth, weight and carcass yield.

A big thankyou to all the students and parents that gave their time during the week to help care for and proudly display our pigs. Thank you to WAPPA, APL, RASWA, Alltech Lienerts and Boehringer Ingelheim for their support of the students and the competition.

Overall results are as follows.

1. Cunderdin - 8
2. York - 6
3. Kelmscott - 5

Butcher shop

Last week saw Mr Marshall and students in the butcher shop processing pigs and sheep under the watchful eye of Mr Lindsay Jones.  Mr Marshall will be operating our butcher shop and abattoir moving forward, and I'm sure the kitchen will be grateful for a freezer of fresh Cundy Ag-grown meat! 

Thanks to Mr Jones for coming in and helping Mr Marshall learn the processes within our facility - it will be great to have the abs and processing floor up and running again regularly.  

Dinninup Show

Any students interested in competing at the Dinninup (Upper Blackwood) Show on November 4 in shearing, fleece judging, meat sheep judging, Merino judging or cattle judging - please get your name (if you haven't already!) to Miss Martini, Miss Baker or Mrs Moore before Friday October 24.  

Please note - those entering the shearing event will have a $20 entry fee that they will have to cover on the day.

Short Course Enrolments - IMPORTANT

I would just like to remind all students and parents that the Short Courses we run at the College are provided by external providers.  Therefore, it is imperative that we get enrolment forms back as soon as possible.  If you are unsure whether your child (or your parent) has filled in the form, please communicate to ensure that the enrolments are not forgotten.  I am increasingly having to remind people or follow up on forms numerous times, and this ends up being very time consuming and has flow-on effects to the providers.  

Therefore, enrolment forms in the future will have strict cut-off dates and any forms received after this date will not be accepted. It is difficult to change, add and remove students from class lists with another institution (eg. TAFE), so unfortunately from now on, those that don't get forms back by the dates stated will not be able to participate in that course.

Farm uniform - Term 4

Part of the WHS requirement for farm in Term 4 is hats!  Please ensure you are wearing your hat every day that you are on Farm.  Both Farm groups have now had one cycle on Farm where they have been reminded of the hat/uniform policy. 

Students who attend Farm roll call from now on without their hat will receive a uniform infringement.  We also encourage students to routinely apply sunscreen and bring along a water bottle if they know they'll be working away from the water fountains for long periods of time.  

Snakes

It is also the time of year that snakes are starting to get out and about, and they are generally quite grumpy after their long nap.  Please be aware when walking through paddocks, around sheds and yards, and anywhere that grass or debris could make a good hiding spot for reptiles.  We have trained snake relocators on site, so if you spot a snake, please let a staff member know.

Kylie Iles

Assistant Farm Manager