Ag camp gives city students a taste of farm life

While most of the city students had never stepped foot on a cattle property before studying agriculture at school, now the majority of them intend to work in the industry on stations, or pursue further education in the field once they graduate.

The camp is run three kilometres from the Brisbane-based school, as part of their agriculture science program and invites 30 students to spend a night and two days on the farm where they learnt to vaccinate, weigh and handle cattle along with other ag skills.

Agricultural program coordinator Chris Butcher said the course provided students with a transferable skill set that they could use in a variety of agricultural jobs.

He said they involve industry professionals like vets, tech specialists and producers, to create an authentic learning experience for the students.

"One of the directors of MLA Russell Lethbridge has cattle properties in central Queensland and will talk to the kids every year," he said.

As part of the program they focus on teaching students how to do more with less; water, fertilisers and people, and educate the students on ways to be more efficient, often with the aid of technology.

"There is a walk over weighing system at the farm and we work with satellite mapping of our pastures," he said.

The school runs two smart farms; one between nine and 10 acres at the school and another 300 acres at Oxley.

Ag assistant Lucas Abell said they have two groups of students that take part in the program, one group is enrolled in agricultural science studies and another group of students that volunteer at the farm during their lunch breaks.

There are 40 students that volunteer at the school farm each day and around four to five classes 25 to 30 students enrolled in the Ag Science subject, across the six year levels.

"We do a camp once per semester, where the kids come and sleep the night at the Oxley farm," he said.

As part of the camp the students were also taught how to use machinery including generators, pumps and post hole diggers.

They worked with a local wholesaler and established an orchard and learnt to dry the the ATV.

"We try our best to get students on a career path into agriculture," he said.

They run 65 head of cattle at the Oxley farm and 12 at the school farm. They have 35 head of sheep, 6 goats, 4 alpacas and around 40 chickens and bees and a Droughtmaster Stud with nine stud cows and one stud bull, which they breed.

CSHS year 10 student Emma Fisher has been the ag program for three years and plans to work on a cattle station and continue studies in ag Science.

"When agriculture was opened as a subject I was interested in everything the program had to offer," she said.

"Every time we come here we learn how to move more efficiently in the yards and work with the cattle," she said.

Holly Ingram-Thorpe had also been in the program for three years and intends to work as a ringer in the Northern Territory.

"All the people that are a part of our school program are very helpful, they provide references and are all very supportive," she said.

Molly Lyons works at the school farm during her lunch breaks.

"It's such a great way for city kids to get more experience," she said.

"If we didn't have this farm here I don't think I would be pursuing that (career in Ag) because I would have never found my passion for it."