Qualification - CERTIFICATE IN AGRICULTURE VAG001

Build a foundation for a career in Agriculture

  • To work on your own farm
  • To work in a supervisory capacity on a farm
  • To work for a farm supply or servicing business

To obtain this certificate, you must complete six modules including:  Farm Management, Agriculture Marketing, Animal Health Care and 3 electives of your choice.

Course Contents

To obtain this certificate, you must complete six modules including:

  • Farm Management
  • Agriculture Marketing
  • Animal Health Care
  • 3 electives of your choice -from Agriculture or Horticultural Crops modules


Compulsory Modules:

 

Farm Management (BAG104)

There are eight lessons in this module as follows:

  1. Strategic Planning Develop strategic planning methods for an agricultural business.
  2. Business Plans Learn how to prepare a Farm Business Plan.
  3. Business Assessment Develop methods for assessing the operations of a Farm Business.
  4. Viability Analysis Analyse the viability of different production enterprises through assessing profits, risk analysis, cost efficiency, quality standards and financial records.
  5. Management Strategies Develop strategies for managing different farm production enterprises, covering workplace organisation and crop scheduling.
  6. Human Resources Plan the management of human resources in a farm business covering supervision, types of leadership/managers, orders & instruction, motivating employees and recruitment.
  7. Physical Resources Develop methods for managing the physical resources of a farm business including managing equipment, machinery and buildings.
  8. Natural Resources Develop methods for managing the natural resources of a farm business, covering topics such as regulations & legislation, land care programs, erosion control, soil degradation, salinity, soil acidification, chemical residues and compaction.

 

Agricultural Marketing(BAG304)

This course is comprised of eight lessons, outlined below:

  1. Agricultural Marketing Concepts
  2. Farm Marketing Strategies
  3. Target Marketing
  4. Handling Produce
  5. Customer Relations
  6. Market Research
  7. Promotions
  8. Managing Marketing

 

Animal Health Care (VAG100)

There are twelve lessons as follows:

1. Introduction to Animal Health Care. Scope of services offered by animal care services, including veterinary practices.

2. Common Health Problems in farm animals and pets. Common health problems in various animals, including injuries & diseases, causes of ill health, problems in family pets

3. Animal Behaviour. Natural behaviour of different types of domestic animals in different situations.

  • natural behaviour of animals
  • problems in wild animals
  • behaviour in domestic animals

4. Signs of Ill Health. Common signs of ill health in different animals.

  • vital signs
  • the healthy animal
  • signs & symptoms of disease
  • diagnosis & control of diseases

5. Veterinary Facilities. Different facilities used in veterinary practice.

  • the first aid kit
  • enclosures for animals

6. Safety Procedures. Safety procedures for a veterinary practice.

  • workplace safety
  • health & safety for veterinary practices

7. Administration of Animal Health. Administration procedures in a veterinary practice.

  • animal insurance
  • legal considerations
  • managing a veterinary office

8. Animal First Aid. First aid procedures/treatments for different animals in response to common health problems in animals.

  • types of wounds
  • treatments

9. Preventative Health Care. Requirements for maintaining good health in domestic animals, including nutrition & preventative medicine.

  • preventing ill health
  • vaccinations

10. Routine Health Treatments. Develop an understanding of routine treatments for healthy animals.desexing, managing a pregnancy, euthanasia

11. Health Problems in Domestic Pets. Develop an understanding of routine treatments for healthy animals. To develop a broader awareness of health problems and their treatment in domestic pets.

  • ticks
  • Australian animals
  • birds
  • reptiles
  • fish

12. Rehabilitation Care. Develop skills in caring for animals prior to, during or after treatment.

  • planning a recovery
  • animal nursing

 

Electives

Choose 3 more (appropriate) modules, from the following: Alternative Agriculture, Pasture Management, Organic Farming, Pigs, Sheep, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Aquaculture, Poultry, Soil Management, Horse Care I, Calf Rearing.

For detailed outlines for any of these modules please click here http://www.acs.edu.au/outlines/

 

Duration: 600 hours

 

Agriculture Has a Bright Future .... If You Embrace Change

Growing good animals or produce was sufficient for most farmers to make a profitable living - but not any more. Today's world is different though -increasingly; and farming is no longer just a way of life.

Some farm businesses have learnt to adapt to the new world order (in agricultural business), but others have not. 

All business today will have an element of risk; and the farm business as much as any, must learn to take calculated risks.  But risk taking should always be based on thorough knowledge, thorough planning and thorough preparation.

The things you learn in this course are valuable for anyone working with horses - in a riding school, stud farm, stables or elsewhere; but they are also skills that can be applied more widely in the farm sector. This makes you more employable if your opportunities in the equine industry are weaker at times throughout your career.

In the past, a farmers market was frequently local, with most competition coming from the local area or state, or perhaps within the country.  Markets are now international, competition can come from anywhere in the world, including from places where labour costs are very low.  But just as competition has increased, so have opportunities.  It is no longer unrealistic to look at overseas, as well as still cater for local markets.

Keeping abreast of what is occurring, both financially and socially, in overseas markets is important to the successful farming operation.  If your country appears to be "flavour of the month" to the people in another country, what opportunities for your products or services could be found there? Expanding economies and increasingly higher standards of living in other countries are also creating new markets all the time.  The market possibilities in a particular country may be short-lived, but who is to say that yet another country will not be interested in what you produce in later years.  Making a high profit for a short period is also a good way to finance other, longer term ventures.

Many people are well aware of the opportunities in overseas markets, but find the prospect of getting contacts, organising the logistics, etc. unfathomable.  Remember that not everything has to be done alone.  Options include creating a co-operative with other similar producers, supplying a larger producer who already has the overseas markets, or working through an agent, who specialises in creating and catering to markets overseas. Government agencies may also provide excellent advice and even financial assistance to help you establish overseas markets.

Scale of production, as well as market opportunities, has also changed. It is cheaper to produce large quantities on large farms. Because the markets set the price on commodities, rather than the producers themselves, it is often unrealistic, or unprofitable, to enter such a market on a small scale.  But that does not rule out being in a similar market.  By creating a differentiation in your product, such as organic or high quality, you may in fact be able to enter a market that is more profitable.  

 

 

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