Today our Year 7/8 CCC class were able to see agricultural technology in action when visiting the Whitehead and Powell farms. Renee and Mat Whitehead showed students one of their calf sheds which was a great example of the best way to house calves as outlined by Veterinarian Zoe Vogels - clean bedding, good airflow but not drafty, clean, individual feeders, and uncrowded pens with healthy looking calves. In a herringbone dairy that was converted into a calf shed, students were able to observe the automated calf feeders which were a huge labor saving device but stressed that calves still needed to be checked several times during the day. Renee showed students the feeding system which recorded the litres the calves were fed and which calves may not have received their daily ration of fortified milk. James Maxwell showcased the technology at the Powell farm that included the first rotary dairy in the district that was built 42 years ago and was still a very efficient way to milk cows. He outlined the way the Jantec computer system recorded the events associated with the cows and worked with the Cow Manager to alert staff to whether a cow was on heat, sick, or lame based on movement or ruminations. James described the way tasks were allocated to staff with a job sharing app which meant that tasks could be completed efficiently and staff could communicate with one another on the farm. It was a good opportunity to see technology such as this in real world applications, thanks Renee, Mat and James. Comments are closed.
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March 2024
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