UK trip eye-opener for Taratahi group

A group of 15 Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre students have returned from an intense agricultural exchange trip to Britain.

Nigel Udy, centre education development manager, said the centre had sent a group of second-year students to Walford Agricultural College in Shropshire, England over the past nine years and in return a group of Walford students have been hosted at Taratahi.

The education exchange focuses on the comparison of farming techniques as well as developing an understanding of the cultural differences between the two countries, he said, and the exchange is "very worthwhile" for both parties.

"This is more than just a cultural exchange; it's a chance for both groups to understand how European and New Zealand farming practices are different, but also how similar we can be."

Students have to work hard to earn a place on the annual UK exchange trip, Mr Udy said, and must be studying the National Certificate in Agriculture Level 4 at Taratahi after completing a year of study at Taratahi.

Eligible students also must be able to pay travel expenses and are interviewed by a panel to ensure "they will be good ambassadors for both Taratahi and New Zealand", he said.

The students on the latest trip were accompanied by centre customer services co-ordinator Tracey Feast and Koromiko farm manager Shayne Rankin. Ms Feast said the the trip was "a real eye-opener" for students.

"It was really good for students to see key differences in farming practices, like how in the UK a large portion of livestock are housed inside sheds for the winter months with some farms housing them all year around and the importance placed on forage feeding.

"And also how their farming is high input and high output, it's a really intense farming model, and how farmers have to diversify their thinking around using the farm land for other enterprises, Ms Feast said.

One of the many highlights was visiting a robotic dairy farm, which was another novel experience for the group.

"It's something we don't see much of in New Zealand. The cows are trained to walk into the dairy unit on their own, they are automatically teat washed, and cups are put on and taken off automatically.

"If the robotic milking machine detects a cow has no milk then the cow is released without milking to continue feeding, quite a contrast to our dairy units in New Zealand."

Mr Udy said the students stayed at Walford College and with local families for a weekend. Students who stayed with families worked on the family farm as well as gaining the added bonus of developing key contacts in the farming community.

Mr Udy said "potentially" some students would return to Britain and have employment contacts should they need work.

Students also took practical sessions at Walford College and were introduced to UK training methods for fencing, motor vehicles, RTV's, farm tasks, equine, animal care and the game bird industry. They also visited sheep and beef and dairy farms, the Shrewsbury Livestock Market, a meat processing plant, potato and cereal farms and chicken and pig farms.

Students did have some down time and made the most of it with visits to Alton Towers Fun Park, RAF Cosford and Iron Bridge, Mr Udy said.

The group also enjoyed a weekend in London "where every second was jam-packed" with trips to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, a Thames river cruise, tours on an open top double decker bus and a many trips on the underground Tube.

Walford College will be sending their next group of students to Taratahi at the beginning of 2014, Mr Udy said.