Camembert in the Classroom
2011 to 2016
Project Objectives
Camembert in the Classroom Project:
- Introduces students to dairy industry manufacturing career pathways.
- Provides a platform to introduce students to the Australia dairy industry and its products.
- Trains teachers on how to make Camembert cheese and transfer this knowledge to a class of students.
- Involves dairy farmers and manufacturing advocates who have vision and dairy industry knowledge to encourage and support students with the project.
- Rewards successful students and schools at the ‘Big Day Out’ presentation day.
Project Summary
Camembert in the Classroom project involves:
- School teachers attending a Camembert cheese making workshop.
- Teachers present the project to a classroom of students.
- Students work in teams of 2-3 to make Camembert cheese and complete assessment tasks.
- A ‘Big Day Out’ presentation day.
- Media coverage throughout the project.
Dairy Manufacturing
2010 to 2016
Project Objectives
The Dairy Manufacturing project:
- Introduces students to dairy manufacturing career and education pathways
- Involves manufacturing industry advocates who have vision and dairy industry knowledge to encourage and support students with the project
- Introduces students to the Australian dairy industry and its products
- Rewards successful students and schools at the Presentation & Awards Day.
Project Summary
The Dairy Manufacturing project involves:
- Teachers present the project to a classroom of students
- Curriculum materials being provided to the school at no cost
- An industry advocate visiting the school and talking to students about their manufacturing career pathway or alternatively students visiting a dairy manufacturing site
- Students work in teams of 2-3 to complete assessment tasks
- A Presentation & Awards Day
- Media coverage throughout the project.
Picasso Cows & Picasso Cows Make-Over Programs
2008-2016
Dairy Australia’s Picasso Cows program is a free curriculum based program, assisting primary school teachers in telling the Australian dairy industry story. It incorporates a focus on children developing nutrition and food origin knowledge, helping them to establish healthy eating habits for life.
The program makes the learning process engaging by creatively bringing the dairy industry to life for everyone involved. The program is hands on, highly interactive and motivational, catering for many learning styles. It encourages the development of ideas and creativity through cooperation and teamwork.
The Picasso Cows program has been written in accordance with the Australian Curriculum and is supported by a selection of resources for teachers. These resources contain extensive curriculum links and have been designed to complement teacher programming.
What is the Picasso Cows program?
Each participating school works on a blank, life-size fibre glass cow. The learning focus will be on one of the following dairy-related themes:
- Unbeatable Bones
- Fuel for Life
- Farm to Plate
An information module coincides with each of the above themes and can be found on the Discover Dairy website: www.dairy.edu.au/discoverdairy In addition to working on the cow, students create a school journal documenting the learning journey from start to finish.
On program completion, 10 students, teachers and parents from each participating school in the region or metropolitan area attend a presentation day. A Legendary prize of $250 is awarded to the school with the highest aggregate score for the cow and school learning journal.
Each participating school keeps their cow and school learning journal at the end of the program. To generate media around the program, teachers are provided with a media toolkit. The toolkit will assist schools to promote themselves as well as key messages about dairy foods and the Australian dairy industry to the wider community.
Farm Safety Adventure Program
2017 to 2019
Program Objectives
Dairy Australia’s Farm Safety Adventure is intended to educate upper primary school students and their families about farm safety. This is achieved through a variety of activities, with an online portal being the main focus.
Program Summary
Participating schools and students will have access to Dairy Australia’s Farm Safety Adventure Portal
This contains modules about the Farm Safety Topics below:
- Module 1 – People on Farms
- Module 2 – Mobile Machinery
- Module 3 – Animals
The students will spend approximately 15 minutes completely each module in the portal but using the Learn, Test and Play functions of the portal.
Other Activities will include:
- A Farm Safety Cartoon
- A – Z Farm Safety Guide Competition
- Farm Visit (optional)
Cows Create Careers – School to Industry
2010 to 2012
Program Objectives
The Cows Create Careers – Schools to Industry project aims to reconnect with Cows Create Careers – Farm Module schools to facilitate, in conjunction with the schools, a work experience placement of interested secondary school students into the dairy industry. The project aims to utilise the network of enthusiastic industry advocates and dairy farmers to host the placements and to connect these people to the People in Dairy principles and resources.
There has been an amazing amount of learning associated with this project. Project Managers thought it was important to capture the final project model in a flow chart which demonstrates the steps involved in facilitating the work experience process between industry and schools.
Program Summary
The Cows Create Careers – School to Industry program utilised a database of interested students as a result of the Farm Module program. The following steps were taken:
- An expression of interest email is forwarded to Cows Create Careers teachers and careers advisors seeking an opportunity for the Dairy Industry to engage and present to a group of students who are thinking about work experience placements.
- The Cows Create Careers teacher and career advisor reply to the email with some likely dates for delivery of the presentation.
- The project managers reply to the email and confirm the date and time of their appointment.
- The Cows Create Careers -School to Industry presentation (activity) is delivered to the students. Any students who are inspired by the presentation then submit an expression of interest form to the project managers stating their name, age, location and preferred area of work experience (dairy).
- The expression of interest form is looked at by project managers and contact is made back to the teacher and career advisor providing a list of student(s) names who they believe they can match with work experience placements.
- The Cows Create Careers teacher and career advisor responds, reconfirming the interest of the student(s) involved, the time and the duration of the work experience and the preferred location taking into consideration personal travel requirements for each student.
- The project managers look through their database of Cows Create Careers advocates and dairyfarmers to find a work experience placement that is suitable for the student(s) and communicates this back to the Cows Create Careers teacher and career advisor.
- The Cows Create Careers teacher and career advisor then contacts the students and seeks final agreement about the placement. The school then forwards paperwork that needs to be signed to the student(s) parents with details of the work experience placement.
- The work experience paperwork is returned by students to the Cows Create Careers teacher and career advisor who ask for the work experience employer to sign. The paperwork is then returned to the principal for final sign-off.
- The work experience placement happens!
A group model was used to connect student with workplaces as part of this program.
- A group of students agree to conduct a week’s work experience in agriculture where they will have the opportunity to be introduced to 5 different businesses
- The business are identified and agree to take part in a rotating work- experience program
- The students will be accommodated together for the duration of the work experience week.
- The students are transported in small groups to their workplace each day ie. 2-3 students per business
- Students share their daily learnings over dinner with the rest of their group.
- Teamwork activity for the last day.
Great Wall of Dairy
2012 to 2013
Program Objectives
Encourage teachers to educate students about the health and nutritional benefits of Australian dairy products and the importance of the Australian dairy industry through a creative and interactive art project.
Project Summary
In the briefing session teachers or school representatives will:
- Meet with Dairy Australia Project Managers.
- View a presentation about The Great Wall of Dairy project.
- Collect their supporting resources and curriculum guide (that feature cross – curricular connections) and links to Dairy Australia’s curriculum website www.dairy.edu.au/discoverdairy.
- Ask any questions they might have about the project.
- Receive their banner and paint supplies.
- Complete a teacher entry survey.
In the classroom students will:
- Complete an entry survey.
- Learn about the health and nutritional benefits of dairy foods and the importance of the dairy industry.
- Work together to plan the design of their The Great Wall of Dairy banner. This component of the curriculum will divide the banner into sections. Students can then research and plan in teams the specific area of the banner that they will decorate.
- Decorate their banner and create their class learning journal.
- Complete an exit survey
- Submit their assessment tasks to Dairy Australia for judging
On the Presentation Day students, teachers and parents will:
- Meet with other participating schools to showcase The Great Wall of Dairy and class learning journal
- Participate in various activities and enjoy a healthy dairy lunch.
- Have an opportunity to be awarded a $250 prize for the region’s winning banner together with their class learning journal. Judging is completed prior to this day.
Each school is provided with a 1.37 x 5 metre banner and paint supplies.
Schools must choose one (or more) questions from the list below and the students will answer the question(s) through their design. In addition to the banner, students must also create a class learning journal that documents their learning journey from start to finish.
- Why is it important for children to consume 3 serves of dairy every day?
- What technology is used in the journey between the farm and the plate?
- What do the ten essential nutrients found in dairy foods do for the body?
- Are Australian dairy products sold overseas?
- What does a day in the life of a dairy farmer involve?
- What do dairy farmers do in order to protect the environment and care for their animals?
- Why is dairy farming important to the local community?
Painting Daisy
2012 to 2013
Program Objectives
To encourage students to understand the importance of the Victorian dairy industry to their region
- To showcase the relevance of the dairy industry to the school community through art
- To provide a platform for the industry, education and community to work together
- To reward the successful students and schools at the conclusion of the project
- To provide the dairy industry with good news stories.
Project Summary
- Schools and teachers will be provided with:
- An overview about the Painting Daisy project
- A curriculum and learning resource pack
- 15 miniature cows
- A set of classroom paints.
- Students in teams of two will:
- Research the dairy industry and learn about their chosen topic
- Paint and/or decorate a miniature cow
- Write a Good News story reflecting on their dairy learnings.
- Teachers and/or students will choose from one of the following topics:
- Dairying and the jobs that it creates in your local community
- Dairying and its nutritional value for the health and wellbeing of your body
- Dairying and the size of the industry in your region and in Victoria
- Dairying and what it involves day to day for the farmers
- Dairying and the products that we consume
- Dairying and how it contributes to your local community.
- The class will:
- Take funny photos of the completed Painting Daisy herd with some students
- Submit their favourite photo for judging.
- Painting Daisy will:
- Award a certificate of participation to each student involved in the project
- Award prizes to the winning schools and students
- Receive extensive media coverage across the region
- Leave a legacy of good news about dairy in their local schools.
Painting Daisy Topics
Teachers may choose to select just one topic for the entire class or alternatively teachers can provide the students with the choice of a topic from the list below:
- Dairying and the jobs that it creates in your local community
- Dairying and its nutritional value for the health and wellbeing of your body
- Dairying and the size of the industry in your region and in Victoria
- Dairying and what it involves day to day for the farmers
- Dairying and the products that we consume
- Dairying and how it contributes to your local community.
Painting Daisy Tasks
Students in teams of two will:
- Research the dairy industry and learn about their chosen topic
- Paint and/or decorate a miniature cow
- Write a Good News story reflecting on their dairy learnings
- Take funny photos of the completed Painting Daisy herd with some students.
- Research the Dairy Industry
Choose and research one of the Painting Daisy topics. Use this research and your new learnings to complete the other activities.
- Paint and / or decorate a Miniature Cow
Your miniature cow will:
- Have a unique name which is included on the cow
- Represent the dairy industry in the final design
- Be creative, perhaps your cow has some bling?
- Write a Good News Story
Your Good News story will:
- Use persuasive and creative text to explain your dairy industry learnings
- Provide the reader with some positive news about dairy
- Include a creative photo showing your team at work.
- Has the School Community Herd the News?
- After your teams and class have completed their Painting Daisy herd take some ‘funny photos’ of the herd with some students in unusual places in the school community. Be imaginative!
- Send in your favourite photo and be sure to include all the photos in your school newsletter or on your
Gippsland Grows Green Grass
2008 to 2009
Program Objectives
The aim of this project is to upskill dairy farmers to use land, water, fertilisers and other resources efficiently. It will be attractive for farmers to participate because they will learn how to increase pasture production and utilisation as well as improve the profitability of their businesses. Such knowledge is vital for farmers needing to adapt their farming systems to maintain high consumption of home grown fodder in the face of climate variability.
NRM outcomes for the project will reduce impact of dairying on catchments, especially improved fertiliser and soil management. This project will take the farmers the next step with their fertiliser management and link it closely with increases in pasture production. Nutrient management tools need some support to be successfully implemented and linked to production, this project will assist this happen. Not only will NRM outcomes be achieved, but the link to productivity will be explored and implemented.
Six farmer coaches, with the help of six assistant coaches, will each facilitate discussions of a group of 10-12 farmers on farm. Farmers will expand their knowledge via existing learning packages which include environmental best practices. The coach and group will support farmers to select and utilise information relevant to their situation. This is important as the plethora of excellent courses, tools and information sources can be over whelming and be more like a maze to some. A great outcome of the pilot version is the enrolment and attendance at pasture courses by farmers who had previously not engaged in such information.
Once awareness has been raised and knowledge improved, the desire of the farmers to implement change will be supported by fellow participants and their coach who has wider experience and can show them real life examples on farms. The project will also link into current dairy industry initiatives and Landcare networks to ensure there is ongoing support for the farmers involved when the project finishes.
Communication among the project team and participants is vitally important as is communication to wider communities. We have access to dairy newsletters which more than 84% of farmers read (2006 survey by DPI of newsletters). In addition, regional newspapers happily publish whatever dairy stories we supply. Using these avenues means that the wider dairy community, service sector and general community will follow the project and its learnings. Media releases in dairy newsletters would be about decision making based on core profit drivers, for example, cost/benefit of doing soil sampling, buying and applying appropriate fertilisers, and resulting pasture production. Media releases for the general community would highlight the environmental stewardship of dairying. In the one year pilot, media articles to date have mainly been to create awareness of the project with a series of ‘good news’ stories ready to come out on completion of the pilot. The 3 year project will generate a higher proportion of practice change and technical stories compared to articles only about the initiation of a short project.
Sustainable, long lasting benefits from the three year project are anticipated. Farmers in groups will gain knowledge, experience and confidence to implement practice change across differing seasonal conditions. They will also have more profitable and environmentally sustainable businesses. Farmer coaches and assistants will be experienced at facilitating farmers groups. With these skills they are a lasting resource for the industry and will be industry leaders into the future. The wider dairy community and general community will be made aware of the responsible work that the dairy industry is doing with support from the National Landcare Programme.
Program Summary
- Five Group Leaders are in place; Labertouche, Darnum, Orbost, Maffra & Stony Creek.
- DairySAT Training has been organised for all Farm & Assistant Farm Leaders.
- Pasture Utiisation and Facilitation training has been organised for all Farm & Assistant Farm Leaders.
- The DPI Nutrient Management Team have been organised to deliver a presentation at the first group meeting in each region.
- 40 Farmer Participants have been identified to be involved in the project.
4 Teats Learn to Grow
2009 to 2010
Program Objectives & Summary
GippsDairy along with supporting industry partners, Department of Primary Industries, Dairy Australia, Gardiner Foundation and The People in Dairy are joining together to embark on an event that will provide confidence and direction for younger people working in the Dairy Industry.
The aim of the expo is to provide a chance for delegates to mingle with like-minded people, hear from people who are actually doing the do, have some fun and enjoy some laughter, gain knowledge and meet some positive people.
All workshops will be interactive and have a farmer panel member who is willing to present their story and journey in the industry as part of the workshop.
The evening will finish with BBQ style dinner where entertainment will be provided.
Great Ocean Road – Take Journey Initiative
2018
Program Summary
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter would like to offer schools and students an exciting opportunity to produce a full page (A4) portrait advertisement to be used as a promotion for their Great Ocean Road products.
The advertisement must contain the following:
- A minimum of one Great Ocean Road product – cheese or milk
- A small footer which contains the name of your school, student names and year level.
To help get your ideas flowing visit both the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter and the Great Ocean Road – careers made here websites. Carry out some preliminary research about the company: www.wcbf.com.au and their products www.greatoceanroaddairy.com.au. Examine the sample advertisement and leaflets that have been attached to this flyer.
The Criteria: Tips to get you started:
- What quirky ideas ensure that your advertisement stands out to the target audience?
- Insert a catchy saying to best represent the “Brand Molecule’’ for Great Ocean Road
- Use your own photo, perhaps the photo includes the students involved?
- Be relevant, creative but maintain a professional look
- Remember that a theme, formatting and colour can help emphasise key points
- Ensure that the shape is not distorted when using the product logo
- Don’t overcrowd your final design, find the right balance!
- Before you finalise your advertisement ask yourself an important question: Would your family and friends alike find the product attractive?
Drought Co-ordination
2007 to 2008
Drought Coordination role for the Gippsland region. Appointed by GippsDairy through funding from the Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation. A one-stop shop for farmers support.
Activities include:
- Organisation of information sessions for dairy farmers
- Directing funding for social events to raise morale
- Service provider meetings
- Industry teleconferences
- Liaison with stakeholders
- Meeting with Local & Federal Government delegates
- Media liaison
- Water security for drought
- Work with Rural Financial Counselling service
- Financial health checks
- Evaluation
- Coordinating of events to obtain Exceptional Circumstances funding for West & South Gippsland
ABC News – 14 August 2007
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has welcomed a full Exceptional Circumstances (EC) rating from the Federal Government in South and West Gippsland.
The region is one of the last in the state to be awarded EC status, giving farmers access to low interest loans for their farm businesses.
VFF deputy president Meg Parkinson says it has taken a lot of behind-the-scenes work from the VFF and government agencies to secure the rating.
She says circumstances are extremely difficult for local farmers and is urging them not to self-assess.
“It’s quite unusual for South and West Gippsland to get full Exceptional Circumstances, it only happens in times of very hard circumstances,” she said.
“It’s been suggested this drought is a one-in-100-year event, this is basically the first time we have had full EC in our area, which gives you an understanding of just how hard it’s been.”
Posted 13 August 2007
Herd ’19 Conference
The Herd ’19 conference is convened by the partnership of the National Herd Improvement Association (NHIA), DataGene, Holstein Australia and Dairy Australia. The event takes place over two days, Tuesday and Wednesday 19 and 20 March, at the Quality Inn, Bendigo, Victoria.
Next year’s conference focuses on delivering change and boasts an exception program of speakers who will join us from Australia and around the world.
The Herd ’19 audience is a blend of herd improvement professionals, dairy management advisors, research, development and extension specialists. The Herd ’19 committee aims to deliver a high value program full of the latest science and practical information that the audience can immediately put to good use in servicing Australian dairy farmers.
We would very much welcome your attendance at the Herd’19 Conference.