Ag&Ed | December 12th, 2022

16 Volume 135 – December 12, 2022

Ag&Ed

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Educational resources for schools & students

Read, listen to and watch what is happening in New Zealand agriculture by scanning the QR codes or following the links. Answer the questions to complete the exercises.

In the news

Watch this

What drops first, the chicken or the egg?

New Zealand’s commercial hen numbers have plummeted to their lowest level in years. https://bit.ly/EggSupply

How does regenerative agriculture help enhance soil health?

Adam Cullen is a Northland dairy farmer trying a different approach to his dairy farming systems that allows better holistic results both on farm and for him personally. https://bit.ly/AdamCullen Have a go: 1. What is an ecosystem?

2. How many cows are milked on their farm?

Stretch yourself: 3. Adam talks about the rhizosphere, what is this?

4. Do some research, why is the rhizosphere important?

5. Adam and his family farm in Kaipara, Northland. What is the climate and topography of land in this area?

6. What is direct drilling? Why are the Cullens wanting to do less cultivation?

7. Conventional inputs are still being used on their farm but to a lesser extent. What do you think these conventional inputs are?

8. What has the change of focus done for Adam personally?

Analyse this

Have a go: 1. What drivers have caused hen numbers to drop?

2. When is cage farming being banned in NZ? 3. How many commercial laying hens did NZ have in its peak?

4. Do you know where the eggs you eat come from?

Feedback Merry Christmas to our Ag&Ed family. We hope you’re enjoying the new layout of Ag&Ed where we turn industry content into useful learning modules, helping students build an understanding of our primary sector.

We’re taking a break over the summer and plan to be back at the start of the new school term in February.

Have a great summer, and please keep sending us your feedback and ideas to aganded@ agrihq.co.nz.

Ag&Ed is an industry-good initiative from AgriHQ and our partners.

Which are worth the most?

This table shows a small selection of data from the Taranaki dairy-beef weaner fair.

Have a go: 1. Which line in the table made the most money per head?

2. Which line made the lowest value per head?

Stretch yourself: 3. How much did each of the above lines make per kilogram?

4. Why do you think the top earning calves made the most money? Compare with the lowest earning lines.

Source: AgriHQ

Ag&Ed

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FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – December 12, 2022

Listen to this

Did you know?

What’s going on in the regions?

Weather has an impact on farm performance all around the country. https://bit.ly/FarmingConditions Have a go: 1. Many regions have had flooding during the heavy rain recently. What issues does late spring/early summer flooding bring?

2. What are some positives about late spring/early summer rainfall?

3. What has been going on in your area?

4. What is powdery mildew?

The big issue

How important are the facts?

NZ sheep and beef farmers are producing more than ever before while reducing their impact on the environment. https://bit.ly/MakingMeatBetter Have a go: 1. Choose three bite sized facts on the page that best illustrate the statement above Stretch yourself: 2. Do you think that the five most important bite size facts chosen by someone farming would be different to someone living in a city, and why?

3. Do you think that the five most important bite size facts chosen by someone much older, like a grandparent would be different to those chosen by someone your age, and why?

How do you become a Dairy Operations Manager?

An Operation Manager ensures all parts of the business run efficiently and are often responsible for a number of farms. https://bit.ly/GoDairyFarmingRoles Have a go: 1. What is the career pathway to become an Operations Manager?

2. What is the main difference between a Farm Manager and an Operations Manager?

3. How many years of experience do you expect you would need to become an Operations Manager from where you are now?

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