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UNE harvesting first crop of Grains students

May 20, 2005

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The University of New England is harvesting the first crop of students from its unique course in Sustainable Grains Production.

The course, designed to meet challenges posed by the increasing complexity of the grains industry, began in mid-2003. It focuses on grain production as practised from central and northern NSW to southern and central Queensland.

Four of the inaugural students have already completed the course, and about 20 more will be graduating later this year. The course coordinator, Craig Birchall (pictured here), said it had been particularly popular with agronomists: a large proportion of those enrolled were professional agronomists, he said, and the others included farmers and farm managers, grain traders and government researchers.

“The course was designed to provide well-rounded scientific training for such people,” Mr Birchall said. “This had become particularly important because some aspects of the industry, including crop nutrition, herbicide resistance, environmental issues, and chemical application, were becoming increasingly complex.”

All the units in the course are delivered by distance education, and cover the broad areas of agronomy, crop protection, environmental issues, and industry systems. Mr Birchall said the residential schools, held in the grain-industry centres of Tamworth and Toowoomba and including presentations by industry representatives, had proved particularly popular.

UNE is now accepting second-semester enrolments in the course, which begins in July.

Those who complete the course successfully can graduate with a Graduate Certificate in Rural Science (Sustainable Grains Production), or put the units towards a diploma or other qualification. Mr Birchall said that many of the students were taking advantage of the possibility of graduating with a Master of Agriculture degree after the completion of just four additional units. For example, two of the agronomists who had already completed the course had combined it with the UNE Cotton Production course and had graduated with a Master’s degree.

Most of the units have been designed so that they can also be undertaken separately, as stand-alone professional training.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation funded the development of the course, and there has been considerable involvement by State Departments of Primary Industry and CSIRO. “Together, we’re trying to get the best practices on to the farm,” Mr Birchall said, “to maximise profitability, minimise environmental impact, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry.”

For inquiries about the course, or applications, contact Craig Birchall on (02) 6773 2721.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at May 20, 2005 02:49 PM