Conserving Forage Day held at GOTAFE’s William Orr Campus
GOTAFE’s Agriculture department hosted a Conserving Forage demonstration day at the William Orr Campus this week.
GOTAFE’s Agriculture department hosted a Conserving Forage demonstration day at the William Orr Campus this week.
This is the culmination of the 2019 cropping program for GOTAFE Agriculture students. Earlier this year several varieties of oats were sown using GOTAFE’s new Aitchison Seeder. The purchase of this equipment was made possible through funding from the Victorian State Government’s Regional Specialist Training Fund (RSTF).
GOTAFE Agricultural students were in attendance and had the chance to learn about career opportunities available in Agriculture supported by skills development programs at GOTAFE.
GOTAFE Agricultural students have been involved from the beginning of the process, including the sowing, seeder calibration, fertilising and monitoring of the crop. Students have also gained experience making decisions regarding the outcome for the crop throughout the process.
Attendees had the chance to hear about different methods of forage conservation, and gain hands on experience, at the William Orr Campus.
GOTAFE CEO Travis Heeney says, “Events such as these are a great opportunity to get hands on experience and provide the opportunity to learn about new technologies in agriculture.”
GOTAFE has received tremendous support from local industry throughout the program with GV Water’s Dean Harrington, providing machinery to prepare paddocks for cropping and offering support for students throughout the year.
Christian Barnett from Goulburn Valley Ag has provided students with information about calibration and the operation of the Aitchison seeder, while David Gould from Seedforce provided all the seed for the project area. Goulburn Valley Ag have also generously mowed, raked and will bale all the hay. Support was also provided by Landmark agronomist Chris Scott, who assisted students with soil testing and information about growth stages of the crop.
WB Hunter’s Marcus O’Dwyer has been a special guest speaker through the year, building the students’ knowledge of hay testing and animal health products.
Mr. Heeney says, “GOTAFE is proud to work with local industry and is incredibly grateful of the support offered by all of our industry partners. This program is a great example of how GOTAFE is working closely with industry to equip the workforce of tomorrow.”





