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Putting theory into Practice for Primary ITO learners

17 July 2024

Fifteen Primary ITO agriculture learners got the opportunity to put their theory into practice with expert body condition scoring advisors during a recent workshop held in the central North Island.

Organised by local Primary ITO Training Adviser Steph Dillon and tutor Liz Saunders, the workshop began with a presentation by local vets from Vetora Taupō on what to look for when carrying out body condition scoring and why it is important. The learning then headed outside, with the vets giving a visual demonstration before the learners had a go themselves. The vets and learners each carried out their assessments on a small group of cows, before running over their results together.

The workshop came about after Steph noticed that some learners either didn’t understand, or feel confident, in carrying out body condition scoring. This practice is used to monitor the health and productivity of dairy cows by assessing their body fat and relates to unit standards in the calving and mating Micro-credential (bite-sized piece of learning), and part of the Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Dairy.

“I thought this is something we could organise for the learners, to get them out of the classroom and put the learning into practice,” Steph says. “It was a really good on-farm practical task to give the learners confidence and experience to do it on their own farm.

“The vets were amazing in taking a couple of hours out of their day to come and share their knowledge. They both have professional training in body condition scoring, so we were really lucky to have their expertise. We were also very grateful to local farmers Mike and Becky Sargent, who offered to host the workshop on their family farm.”

Mike and Becky run 1000 cows on their 400-hectare family farm in Marotiri, near Taupō.

“We currently have four staff training through Primary ITO so we thought it was a way we could support the programme,” Becky says. “It also provided our team with the opportunity to work alongside professionals to gain a better understanding of how to accurately body condition score.

“It was great to have the support of our local Vetora practice. This enabled the trainees to access expert training and advice from the vet first hand.”

Brandon Pickett-Rust, 23, is in the second year of his Primary ITO apprenticeship in agriculture on the Sargents’ farm. He found the workshop a valuable learning experience.

“Being able to get outside and put theory into practice was really good,” he says. “Going through with the vet looking at every aspect of the cow and what to look for.

“We did two kinds of scoring, the first was up close where we could touch each aspect of the cow to score, and the second was from afar, like you would do in a paddock. It was really useful having the vets there and being able to ask questions – you know you’re going to get the best answer,” he says.

“I will 100 percent put the knowledge into practice on-farm.”

Following the success of this and another similar workshop, the aim is to include a body condition scoring field trip into all Level 3 calving and mating courses from 2025.

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