During the Rearing Healthy Calves and Working Safely with Livestock modules, you will be immersed in on farm and classroom based learning activities that are aimed to assist you to develop competency in:

• Identify and maintain hygiene, health, and environmental requirements in a calf shed.
• Propose solutions for issues related to hygiene, health, and environmental conditions.
• Improve animal handling and drafting skills.
• Practice record-keeping in the calving shed, emphasising the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
• Develop skills in monitoring the growth, health, and development of calves.
• Practice activities including weighing calves, conducting health checks, and assessing overall condition.
• Enhance awareness of safety protocols, compliance, and regulations in a calving shed.
• Develop practical skills in identifying and preparing facilities and supplies for animal care.
• Focus on feeding, handling, and monitoring mother-calf relationships.
• Enhance skills in assessing and preparing for the needs of newborn animals.
• Assess specific needs considering factors like nutrition, shelter, and medical requirements.
• Safely and humanely apply identification devices (NLIS tag) to selected livestock.

During the Milking Operations module, you will be immersed in on farm and classroom based learning activities that are aimed to assist you to develop competency in:

• key aspects of milk operations, including discussing strategies for unexpected events in milking, and understanding the impact of variables on animal health and safety.
• theoretical knowledge on milk quality, evaluating scenarios related to milk quality, and grasping the impact of cleaning practices on maintaining high milk quality.
• acquiring expertise in understanding step-by-step cleaning procedures, successfully checking milking equipment functionality, and demonstrating knowledge of waste disposal and environmental considerations.
• creating and sharing videos on milking equipment cleaning, actively participating in group discussions on cleaning practices, and relating video observations to theoretical knowledge.
• creating farm biosecurity plans, conducting risk assessments for health, safety, and biosecurity, and exploring the critical importance of biosecurity on dairy farms.
• the ability to recognise signs of mastitis and conduct basic tests, actively participating in discussions on mastitis detection, and understanding the crucial role of record-keeping in health monitoring.
• developing proficiency in understanding common treatment protocols for mastitis, demonstrating or simulating mastitis treatment, and applying humane handling techniques during the treatment process.