General News
19 June, 2025
Sponsorship supports education boost
THE next generation of agricultural talents are gaining valuable practical experience thanks to a new program at Glenormiston College which has been backed by local business.
South West TAFE is transforming the old football oval at Glenormiston College into a thriving demonstration plot for students to observe and document soils and crops.
South West TAFE head of industry, land and engineering Ed Roache said the program has been in development since last year and aims to provide practical experience in real conditions with the support of local farmers and supplies.
“This has been six months in the making to organise with AGF Seeds, who along with the Terang Co-op Rural Store have been big sponsors of the program,” he said.
“This will support a wide range of students from Certificate II through IV of Agriculture and we can utilise this site for our diploma students as well.
“It’s capturing a lot of audience in our ag courses, and really gives them the hands-on experience of monitoring, assessing and evaluating different pasture species which they can then go and take back to their own farms as well, and incorporate some of the learnings they’ve got from the trial plot.”
Mr Roache said the program would give students the opportunity to get out of the classroom and into the field.
“Part of the reason everyone likes to come to TAFE is for that hands-on experience,” he said.
“Once we come to spring we’ve got the equipment for the students to get more hands on, to actually start to harvest the area.
“We want as much hands-on experience as possible, whether it is pasture-based or hands-on and with animals, equipment or machinery.
“That’s what TAFE offers.”
Among the students eager to make the most of the program is Emmy McKenzie, 17, who is studying a Certificate II in Agriculture and believes learning hands-on provides a boost.
“It’s helpful,” she said.
“We see it all going on at work, and then to see it and have someone who can talk to us more in depth about it is good.
“It’s good to learn from different people to explore different perspectives.”
Fellow Certificate II in Agriculture student Brodie Jubb, 16, said seeing the plot being planted last Thursday, with guidance from industry experts, was a point of interest.
“It’s great to have this opportunity to come out and see the guys do it,” he said.
“You can go to work and do the same thing, so I’m grateful to have the opportunity to come out and witness it.”
The program is being taught by casual agronomy teacher Rob Durant, who is a qualified agronomist and a member of the Terang and District Co-op board.
He said he looked forward to delivering a program which had been the culmination of a local collaboration.
“We’re sowing 30 different varieties of pasture, grasses and clovers,” he said.
“The main idea is for students to be able to come down and visually identify different grasses, legumes and clovers.
“They get a close look at the growth habit of the plants, can look for expert pests and then by extension we can look at the production of varieties.
“The students are from farms or working on farms in addition to going to secondary school, so they’re getting practical and theoretical exposure.”
Terang and District Co-op chief executive officer Gary Tempany said partnering with AGF Seeds and South West TAFE to sponsor the program was a no-brainer.
“It helps to showcase the product, helps the students helps South West TAFE with what it offers at Glenormiston College,” he said.
“It’s one of those things where everyone involved in the collaboration is a winner.
“We formed a partnership with AGF Seeds to help grow our seeds business at the Rural Store – they’re a good, local owner supplier so they’re a good fit for us.
“We started out with an information session a few weeks back, but Rob Durant suggested we do a demonstration plot as this space and the program was available.
“This all grew from there.”
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