Year 11 Agriculture and Primary Industries Excursion

Last week St Paul's Year 11 Agriculture and Primary Industries students travelled to northwestern New South Wales. The purpose of the excursion was to have an up-close look at some of our extensive agricultural enterprises.

The first stop was in Gora Feedlot at Somerton. This Feedlot purchases high numbers of cattle from across Eastern Australia including many from our very own area around Kempsey. Students toured the intake yards, feed mill and cattle pens. Each student was presented with a Trucker cap from the Feedlot.

Our base camp for the week was the Wee Waa Showground where we were accommodated in a large shed on the show ground. Day two saw the students visit two farms, one an extensive beef farm producing Wagyu Angus cross cattle for the Feedlot market. This farm was beneath the shadow of the giant Whitehaven coal mine. It was interesting to discuss the impacts of mining on the ability to conduct farming operations, with the biggest problem being the disruption to the underground water aquifers on the property.

The second enterprise visited was a large cropping farm at Bellata north of Narrabri. This farm employs the use of a new robotic tractor known as a swarm farm robot, where it is being used to spot spray weeds in the paddocks. The owner, Robert Everliegh, gave the students a thorough demonstration of the machine and the students watched it spraying in a paddock with straight runs that were four and a half kilometres long. Robert also took the students to the neighbouring farm where they were harvesting cotton and the students were able to watch the harvesting process occur in the paddock.

That evening the students could experience the wonder of the Great Artesian Basin by having a late evening swim in the Burren Junction hot bore baths. The water comes out of the aquifer at around a consistent 39 degrees centigrade. No Better way to learn about the Great Artesian Basin than being immersed in it.

On day three the students visited the Australian classing services located in Wee Waa. This facility classes samples taken from bales of cotton from all over New South Wales and southern Queensland. The classification process utilises mechanical tests that measure strength, colour and micronair. The samples are then inspected by a classer who has been trained to visually assess the product's traits.

The second Enterprise that we visited on this day was the Australian cotton Research Institute at Wee Waa. This facility is a joint venture between the CSIRO and the Department of Primary Industries, where all crossbreeding of genetically modified and non-genetically modified cotton occurs. The facility also conducts an enormous amount of research into other crops, such as wheat, barley, oats, etc. Day three was capped off with another night time swim in the Burren Junction hot bore baths under a glistening full moon. This time all of the students decided to have a swim.

Day four was our last day in Wee Waa which meant that we had to pack up camp and make our way home. There was one last destination to visit, which was the farm operated by the famous Jackson brothers near Moree. The brothers, apart from being exceptional farmers, make weekly YouTube videos documenting the everyday occurrences on their farm. We were fortunate enough to meet two of the brothers, Matt and Brad, who gave the students clear insight into the types of skills desired by many employers in the area. The farming family have a unique suite of complementary skills and this enables them to tackle almost any task on their property. This includes rebuilding machines and resurrecting old machines - they even 3D print some of their own parts. The students were very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit their farm and found Matt and Brad very approachable and easy to talk to about the difficulties of farming in this economic climate.

The last day was punctuated by two separate flat tyres on the bus, however after sorting out these issues, we had a trouble free trip back home to the coast.

I would like to thank the staff who accompanied the students on the trip, including Miss Lisa Frewen, Mrs Jodene Barnett and Mrs Angela Bramley. Thanks also to Ms Laura Evans, Ms Laura Campbell, and Year 12 Hospitality, who prepared the food for the students.

I would also like to thank the students who were very engaged throughout the trip, and to the staff at the College who took our lessons and enabled us to have this experience with the students.


Mr Graham Bramley - Teacher and Leader of VET