Effluent Management Training aims to improve productivity Dealing with Dairy Farm Effluent is a new training package developed by the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation with the assistance of DairyNZ, and support of Fonterra. The aim of the course is to improve awareness amongst all farm staff of effluent as a valuable farm resource, and their role in its effective management. It caters to all levels of dairy worker experience and can lead to improvements in farmers' profitability and productivity, says Agriculture ITO's pastoral business coordinator Katrina Knowles. "Farmers have told us that they needed this training for their employees and themselves. "The best plan is for the whole farm team to do it together," Mrs Knowles said. DairyNZ research on the nutrient values of effluent shows equivalent fertiliser value per cow of $30-$50 per year - depending on farming system and current fertiliser costs - making it a valuable input if it is well managed. Mrs Knowles says the training has been designed to have a practical focus. "Participants will be able to relate what they learn to the farm they work on. At the same time, the effluent management principles covered in the workshops are universal and can be taken from farm to farm." Prior to the workshop, participants are asked to do a walk-through of their farm system, so they can reference what they learn to their situation. At the workshop, tutors cover how to operate and maintain various systems correctly and the legal, environmental and health issues involved. Handouts, including material from the relevant regional council, and workbooks ensure the learning is relevant to participant farms. The follow-up assessment takes place a month or so later on farm, where staff must demonstrate the learning has stuck, and is being used, in order to complete the qualification. Mrs Knowles says less experienced staff may not realise that some of the things they do can end up costing the farm time and money. "They need to remember the little things, like not dropping litter in the dairy shed because it may end up blocking the effluent pump, and doing things quietly in the shed so cows produce less waste and costly pumping is reduced, " she says.   Johan Geerts of Rakaia Island Dairies, which piloted the stage one training in February, says some farmers regard effluent as a "cost and hassle". "It's not. It can save you money and grow you grass!" he says. "Nutrient budgeting is so important. If you tell farmers they can knock down their fertiliser budget by 10 percent, they sit up and listen." Agriculture ITO has contracted independent tutors to teach the courses and conduct the on-farm assessments. AsureQuality, well known in the agricultural sector for providing food safety and biosecurity services, will run courses in the South Island and lower North Island. Management consulting and auditing company QCONZ will be responsible for the rest of the North Island. The Dealing with Dairy Effluent course has been developed in consultation with Fonterra, regional councils and farming experts, and will run according to demand on similar lines to the milk quality courses already offered by Agriculture ITO. Agriculture ITO is a non-profit organisation that develops best practice learning for farming, with the support of its industries. It plans to develop a second stage course in effluent later in the year, to offer experienced farmers and staff the opportunity to assess and improve their effluent management system and the procedures for operating it.   For more information, click here. Back to Press Releases