Agriculture Courses

A course designed to equip students with a range of necessary management and horse care skills. Students undertake core studies in marketing and business operations combined with three stream units in horse care, plus two elective units of study.

Accredited by the International Accreditation and Recognition Council - IARC

Apply plant science to commercial situations

Develop a foundation for applying plant science in commercial situations. Many industries offer significant employment or business opportunities for people who have a moderate understanding of plant science, provided this knowledge is accompanied with a real sense of how it can be applied for commercial benefit in the real world. Unfortunately scientific training is often either too theoretical (lacking relevance to commerce), or too strongly skills based (ie. how to perform tasks without a solid understanding of the science behind the task). This course is something between those extremes. The certificate consists of 8 individual modules and 100 hour Industry Meetings or Research Project.

 Accredited by the international Accreditation and recognition Council - I.A.R.C.

Calling on innovative leaders who are prepared to meet the challenges of repairing the damage caused by broad-acre, chemical based monocultures.

Agriculture today is part of a competitive, global market. Traditional forms of agriculture that rely on the chemical inputs promoted by the global chemical companies have degraded the environment to an unsustainable level, making them difficult to operate competitively. Environmental concerns and the looming food crisis are confronting all agricultural enterprises. There is an immediate need for agricultural leaders who can respond in an intelligent and environmentally aware manner.

The key to success is to respond quickly.

Success may be gained by looking outside the corporate-controlled agricultural environment toward creating new markets, by value adding, or by designing market niches not able to be readily filled by mass market competition.

Make the change now!

This is a very solid training program for people wishing to work in alternative areas of agriculture at a technician or management level - in positions such as a farm manager, technical representatives, trainers or consultants.

Accredited by the International Accreditation and Recognition Council - IARC

Interested in a career working with animals?

This course provides training for people wishing to work with animal production at a technician or management level; in positions such as a farm manager, technical representatives, trainers or consultants. Modules available include: Animal Husbandry, Animal Breeding, Animal Behaviour, Aquaculture, Sustainable Agriculture, Organic Farming, Horse Care, Poultry, Pigs, Permaculture, Sheep, Dairy Cattle, Beef Cattle, and Pasture Management.

This course is internationally accredited through the I.A.R.C.

"Learn to sell farm produce".

The core activity of any farm is producing animals or crops, but if the produce is not marketed at the right time for the right price, the whole financial viability of the farm is at best unstable. This course develops your ability to analyse and manage marketing problems in an agricultural enterprise.    

Gain a greater understanding of the behaviours of animals

Learn about the psychology and science behind animal behaviour. This provides an excellent foundation for people working with animals in any situation: farms, zoos, veterinary practices, pet shops or even in the wild. Understanding what motives and animal to behave in a certain way can help the animal handler to adapt his management procedures to benefit the animal and the handler. This understanding will help reduce the stress in human-animal relationships.

Plan and implement animal breeding programs using genetic theory, practical applications to daily husbandry practice, and management of animal breeding programs. This course includes a sound introduction to genetics.  Relevant to any type of animal. Personal guidance from highly qualified and experienced animal scientists and practitioners. Topics covered include: introduction to genetics; selection; pure breeding; introduction to cross breeding; cross breeding and livestock improvement.

"The course is particularly useful to students who are or wish to be involved in agricultural livestock production" Marius Erasmus - B.Sc. Agriculture, B. Science (Wildlife), M.Sc. Agriculture

Follow your passion into Animal Health Care

Learn to care for the health of any type of animal (focus is on mammals and birds) and understand the scope of services offered by animal care services, including in veterinary practices. This course is appropriate for anyone interested in working with animals including on a farm, a wildlife park or a veterinary practice. It is a sound foundation course and designed to cover most of what is found in a typical veterinary assistants course in many countries around the world.

An excellent foundation course in animal studies

Develop a sound foundation knowledge of animal anatomy and physiology to use as a basis to understanding, care and management of animals in domesticated or wild situations.  This course provides a starting point for working with animals in any applied situation (farms, vet reception, zoos, wildlife, parks, animal protection shelters etc).  The course covers cells and tissues, the digestive system, the circulatory system, the urinary system, the nervous system, respiration, reproductive systems, muscles, skeleton, growth, development and more.

You will learn to assess and describe common diseases in animals, and how to identify appropriate treatments for these diseases, conditions or injuries. Specific topics include Signs and Symptoms of Diseases  Disease Classification, Causes of Disease, Inflammation, Fever and Immunity, Tissue Repair, Wounds and Cell changes (death, cancers etc). It is useful to complete Animal Husbandry I before attempting this course. This course partially overlaps on Animal Health Care, but on balance these courses complement each other - there is benefit in doing both. 

A course concentrating on the feeding of farm animals

Learn how to understand the composition of a range of feeds, including pasture, fodder crops, grasses, cereals, seed, and other edible plants. This course also explains the role of proteins, vitamins and minerals in animal diets. It equips you with the skills required to evaluate feeding and select appropriate feeds - for digestibility and nutritional content - applicable to real life farming situations.

Learn about the care and breeding of fresh water fish

Develop a capacity to develop and manage freshwater aquaculture enterprises. Aquaculture is the farming of water animals (eg. Fish, crustaceans) for human consumption. This course covers: water (e.g.source, purity, flow, temperature, dissolved oxygen), stocking rates, spawning, checking stock, stripping, fertilization, hatching, growth stages, feeding, harvesting, stocking and more.

An in depth qualification for anyone wanting a career working with horses

A foundation qualification for a career at management or technician level in the equine industry. Graduates may find employment opportunities in any horse industry establishment including stables, stud farms, riding schools, veterinary practices, equine supply and service organisations/companies, event management or race courses.

 Accredited by International Accreditation and Recognition Council.

Provides advance standing (credits) in higher qualifications (including Advanced Diplomas and Degrees) with Warnborough College (UK & Ireland), Australian Correspondence Schools, and an international network of ACS accredited colleges.

A specialised course looking at aspects of the care of beef cattle

Develop your abilities to analyse and make decisions about the management requirements of beef cattle.  The course is a comprehensive introduction covering such things as Cattle Breeds; Beef Cattle Production Systems; Cattle Breeding; Diseases in Beef Cattle; Nutrition for Beef Cattle; Commercial Herd Management; Feed Lot Management; Stud Herd Management; Management, Economics and Marketing .

Study the rearing and selection of calves

This course develops your ability to manage the rearing of calves for different agricultural purposes. It covers all aspects of calf rearing including calf selection, birth, calf diseases, rearing systems, calf housing, weaning and post weaning. Learn to select calves for specific purposes (eg. dairy, beef, breeding) and rear them to that end, identifying and dealing with health and other problems that may occur along the way.

"Gain an in-depth qualification in Agriculture for those already working in Agriculture or those wishing to start working in the field".

Designed for the new farmer or those working toward employment in this field. This course develops a capacity to run or work confidently on a specialised or mixed farm. Core units equip you with all the basics needed for general animal health, farm management and all important marketing skills. Choose three elective units from a list that includes soil and pasture management and also gives you the opportunity to specialise in specific farm animals i.e. calf rearing, poultry, beef or dairy cattle etc. An excellent starting point to learn the fundamentals of farming.

This course is internationally accredited through the International Accreditation and Recognition Council (IARC)

Learn more about alternative farming methods for the modern farmer

Farming has changed greatly over recent decades, and to survive, the modern farmer needs to increasingly seek alternative approaches, whether in terms of what is produced, or how it is produced. This course develops an innovative approach to farming by broadening awareness of options, and fostering skills to research and network more effectively.

This is a comprehensive and highly practical course; for anyone who wants to better understand the health and wellbeing of animals. It is designed to provide a foundation for employment in any type of animal care job; whether pets, domesticated farm livestock or wildlife (captive or free). 

A highly recommended foundation certificate

Students of this certificate will learn in detail about the many facets of keeping a horse at grass or in the stabled environment. Core modules ensure students have a firm understanding of the key elements of caring for their horse. Elective modules are chosen to allow them to undertake more in depth studies in areas such as: animal anatomy and physiology, feed and nutrition, animal health or animal breeding. While the elective modules have a more general large animal focus, the knowledge is easily translated to a horse management situation through the focus of lesson assignments and set tasks.

Once completed this Certificate can be used as credit toward an Advanced Certificate in Applied Management (Horses) or Associate Diploma in Equine Studies.

"An insight into the care and management of dairy cattle".

Learn to independently analyse and make decisions about the management requirements of dairy cattle: comparing dairy breeds, managing anything from one cow to a large herd, and producing dairy products (milk, cheese, cream butter etc). This is a very sound foundation course developed in collaboration with industry and by our team of experts (agricultural and animal scientists, veterinary surgeons etc).

Study the behaviour and mental welfare of horses

Develop your understanding of horse behaviour and your ability to apply that to the welfare and training of the horse. Behaviour is any externally observable activity of an animal. In general, it includes: Movement of parts of the body, stopping expected movement, secretions from the body and changes in body colour. People study equine behaviour to be able to understand and recognise "normal" behaviour and from this be able to identify and do something about “abnormal” behaviour; and better manage a horse.

A diverse range of subjects relating to farm management.

Farming is just as much about management as it is about animal or crop production. Unfortunately in today's world, the ability to produce a good animal or crop is no guarantee for success!

Through this course, learn to analyse, diagnose and make decisions related to management of a farm business.

Learn to manage the daily requirements of a horse at grass

 The course aims to develop the ability to handle horses using a range of different procedures; the skills to evaluate a horses conformation; an understanding of the horses diet; knowledge of grooming procedures; an ability to develop appropriate management procedures for a specific situation; and knowledge of commercial opportunities in the equine industry, including how to buy and sell horses.

Develop your horse care knowledge further with this second horse care course

Learn to care for horses in a stable and improve your knowledge of bedding systems, stables, mucking out, foot care and shoeing, tack, exercise and fitness and conditioning. Analyse and determine feeding requirements and techniques available, and develop equine stable management programs.

Improve your equine health and welfare knowledge

Building on Horse Care I and II, you will learn to better manage the health and condition of horses in different situations; identifying signs of poor condition, and address those problems appropriately. Understand the things that can stress a horse and increase it's susceptibility to problems and know how to manage different situations (events, travel, weather etc.) to minimize risk.

Water is essential to both plant and animal growth and is often the major limitation to productivity. Learn to design and manage simple irrigation systems for agricultural applications. Understand soil characteristics that affect irrigation needs (eg. drainage, water holding capacity), estimating plant needs, irrigation scheduling, types of irrigation systems (sprinkler, drip or trickle, and flood) and equipment (eg. pumps and filters).

Learn about large scale irrigation systems.

This course builds on existing skills and knowledge achieved in Irrigation (Agricultural) BAG213 or an equivalent course. The course develops your ability to participate in design and operation of large scale irrigation systems for agricultural applications.

Treat animal health problems naturally

Holistic Treatment or “Holistic Therapies” are designed to treat the whole patient whether it be animal or human as opposed to the specific symptom they may be displaying. Holistic treatment is thought to treat the illness by boosting the immune system and overall health of the animal, which will in turn treat any secondary illnesses. The foundation of holistic treatment is optimal nutrition. This is the “fuel” for the body and therefore needs to contain all of the essential components that an animal needs to boost its immune system and maintain health. We look at natural nutrition in more detail later in the course.

Organic farming has distinct advantages, for the environment, for human health, and also for farm economics. There are many definitions of organic farming. A commonly accepted definition is “farming without the addition of artificial chemicals”. All kinds of agricultural products are produced organically – vegetables, fruit, grains, meat, dairy, eggs, and fibres such as cotton and wool. Many processed foods are also produced organically (e.g. bread).

Learn management and repair of pastures

Pastures are critical to many types of farms. Farmers have been known to turn unprofitable farms into commercial successes by simply improving pasture. Whether dealing with small or large properties, pasture management is an important part of many types of farm enterprises. This course is designed to be useful to those already managing existing pastures and those who wish to establish successful new pastures.

Want to work with pets? Need to know more about caring for pets?

A course for pet owners or anyone working with pets, providing a sound introduction to caring for a wide variety of different pets including dogs, cats, fish, birds, rabbits, rodents, reptiles and amphibians.  This course was developed and tutored by highly qualified and experienced professionals (Veterinary Surgeon, former wildlife park manager, university lecturers etc). This course provides an outstanding opportunity to extend your knowledge, perspective and capacity to care for all types of pets.

Develop your skills in pig management

Learn pig management: for commercial production, self sufficiency or as a hobby.  This sound foundation course helps develop a broad understanding of pig biology, management and production. It covers such things as breeding and selection, housing, feeding, pig diseases, boar management, managing the sow and litter, fattening pigs, record keeping and more.

"An introduction to the care and management of poultry".

Learn to manage poultry on a small or large scale, for production of eggs, meat or young birds. This course covers all aspects of poultry care and management including: Terminology, Breeds, Nutrition, Diseases in Poultry, Layers, Broilers, Incubation, Brooding, Record Keeping, Economics & Marketing; and is relevant to free range or other forms of production.

"Learn the rudiments of sheep care and management".

Sheep are an important agricultural livestock that are bred for meat and wool worldwide. Careful and informed management of your flock will ensure increased productivity and efficiency. Aimed at professional and amateur graziers, the course provides you with the knowledge to run your sheep effectively and productively and will help you to develop your ability to independently analyse and make decisions about the management requirements of sheep.

An introduction to the maintenance and management of agricultural soils

Soil is the foundation for profitable farming. There are many things that can be wrong with soil (eg. poor nutrition, chemical imbalance, structural problems such as drainage, lack of microbial life etc). Often minor and relatively inexpensive treatments can make a huge difference to productivity, but the problems need to be identified first, and that requires a solid understanding of soil theory and management practice. Learn about soil properties and requirements in agriculture, and how to apply that knowledge at a management level.

"Prepare for Farming in the Future -explore and learn the principles and practices of environmental and economic sustainability".

Today the pressure is on for more and more farmers to work towards sustainable systems of farming which produce healthy, nutritious, affordable food and a dependable, secure food supply -without producing a negative impact on the environment. Sustainable farms should protect the environment, preserve open spaces, forests and wildlife and also encourage and conserve biodiversity, plus provide the farmer and farm workers with a good living.

Learn to identify and control weeds

Learn to identify and effectively control weeds. You will learn about both chemical and non-chemical weed control methods (e.g. mulching, burning, slashing), plus the use of spray equipment and operating safety procedures which should be followed when using chemicals and equipment.