Five animal science students enrolled at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy campus received Australian Pork Limited-sponsored undergraduate industry placement awards, enabling them to complete two week piggery placements during their 2017-18 summer break.
The placement awards are designed to expose undergraduate students to commercial pork production by enabling them to apply hands-on the principles of livestock management covered within their study programs.
Within SA, the program is supported by Pork SA and Graeme Pope Consulting, through assistance with their applications to APL, selection of their placement farms and farm staff introductions prior to starting their placements.
Piggeries adopting batch farrowing programs are usually approached for placements, as they offer students concentrated experiences with mating, farrowing and weaning tasks across a concentrated time period.
Piggery staff also benefit from having a student on their farm, through having to explain or demonstrate how and why various routine work practices are completed within their production system.
Since inception of the program, more than 80 Roseworthy-enrolled students have completed placements on SA farms, with about 70 per cent either returning to further pig-focused post-graduate study or seeking careers within the pork industry after their graduation.
This success is due to the time and effort farm staff across these sites have devoted to ensuring the placements are made as educational and practical as possible.
Student Katelyn Tomas completed her placement at Myora Farm, Mount Gambier.
“I came into the placement wanting to learn more about the livestock industry, especially reproduction and post-parturition management in a hands-on, interactive way and to put principles into practice”, she said.
“I have learnt more than I could have dreamed of and have come away with a keen interest in the pig industry and hope to continue with it. I have had the opportunity to make contacts within the industry that I hope could lead to my future employment.”
Sheridyn Cargill completed her placement with Damien and Emma Amery, Freeling, on a batch-farrowed farm using some Berkshire genetics.
“I found the whole experience very eye opening”, she said.
‘You experience and understand how much time, effort and care goes into these animals.
“I got to be very hands-on at my placement and have heard from some of my vet colleagues that I have experienced more in my two weeks of placement than they have in all their placements. I’m definitely walking away from this experience knowing a lot more about livestock/pig production and just some of the pathways my degree can take me.”
Jamie Jones completed her placement at the Blenkiron family’s Gumshire Stud, Keyneton, another SA farm using batch farrowing, along with purebred Hampshire’s.
“From my two weeks at Gumshire Stud, I have been lucky enough to learn and experience the day-to-day activities required in commercial pig production, especially during farrowing and mating. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge starting this placement but with Shaun and Michael I have learnt a tremendous amount about the logistics behind farming, and the tasks required for farming pigs”, she said.
“I think this new knowledge will be incredibly useful to have as I come to the end of my degree and start looking at employment options.”
