As a result of changes to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, almost all farms in New Zealand will need to have a freshwater plan.
One of the concerns voiced by the industry about that, is there are not enough people with the necessary training to make that requirement a reality.
Massey dairy production systems professor Danny Donaghy says the new short courses are designed to fill that gap and move away from the traditional “hours and hours of online lectures,” and will instead focus on flexibility, new technologies and case studies.
“With many of these people already working jobs, it’s not feasible to have long, full-time courses,” he said.
“These short courses will help upskill and train people to feel confident in delivering these plans.”
The courses will be offered under the umbrella of the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre.
Building on established short courses, including Sustainable Nutrient Management, the here are two new courses, an Introduction to NZ Farm Systems and Intermediate Farm Environment Planning, with a third, Advanced Farm Environment Planning, due to be developed next year.
Introduction to NZ Farm Systems is a six-week course for those who are new to the industry and want to understand implications of their decisions further down the line.
“It’s really important to understand the farmer’s goals and values so you can actually work well with them to produce a successful plan,” Donaghy said.
Intermediate Farm Environmental Planning builds on concepts for freshwater plans.
Dr Lucy Burkitt, who is leading the creation of this course, says that the teaching will introduce students to the concepts and components of a freshwater Farm Environment Plan.
“We’ll be using an online environment and digital resources to guide students through the development of a desktop Farm Environment Plan,” she said.
Funding to support the development of the courses, which were assisted by a reference group from industry and government, was provided by the NZ Fertiliser Association.
Participants from industry and government will be asked to provide feedback as Massey trials these new courses as pilots through 2021.
The courses are already being received well, with industry players keen to get involved and courses into 2021 already receiving enrolments.
