Participating Schools

Agriculture is taught from Year 8 with a term of generalist/ introductory agriculture; from Year 9 students are able to select Agriculture as an elective. In Year 10 students have a choice of Agricultural Science and Agricultural Practices which are foundation subjects for senior subject selection. In year 11 and 12 students have three selections from Agricultural Science, Agricultural Practices and Certificate 2 in Agriculture. At Dalby State High School there is an extensive commercial farm that is spread over two properties that allows students to utilise and experience production systems related to broad acre cropping, intensive fed and grazing of cattle and sheep as well as horticultural vegetable production.   

GPS Cows Project is largely based in the senior curriculum of Agricultural Science and Certificate 2 in Agriculture. The senior agriculture students will be leading the project and compiling data for analysis in their major extended agricultural investigation in Semester 1 of 2018. The Certificate 2 students will be providing support with practical activities such as yarding of cattle in preparation for the agricultural science students to collect data. All students are particularly interested to look at the cattle behaviours that could be exhibited and how this might differ from their perceived ideas of cattle behaviour.

I am personally interested in how agricultural technologies can be incorporated in agricultural education to take an innovation and exciting approach to learning. A project like this has the ability to connect students and educators from different countries and agricultural experiences to share knowledge and skills to produce the next generation of agriculturalists.

Small rural comprehensive high school of 148 students from yr 7 -12. Students are exposed to D&T Agriculture in years 7&8 and choose Agriculture as an elective in years 9 and 10. We also deliver stage 6 Agriculture for the HSC as well as Primary Industries. Senior classes are taught vertically.

Extra Curricular Farm Club exposes students in years 7 – 12 to showing cattle and prime lambs at local and royal shows throughout Autumn and Spring. The AG plot comprises of 50 acres of prime cropping country with areas set aside for natural vegetation and wildlife corridors. Students manage their farm and produce fodder crops, cereal crops, Prime lambs and beef cattle. They also supply point of lay pullets locally and produce free range eggs and pork each year.

This program allows our students first hand access to new technologies that are being developed and they can implement them on their own farm in monitoring animal behaviour. The program is applicable to all year groups and can be used as engaging lessons.

Students study a range of topics as part of the junior and senior programs.

All Year 7 students participate in Ag Science as part of a mandated Technology Rotation. Year 7 students investigate technologies in the beef industry in conjunction with Australian Meat Processors Corporation (AMPC). This content particularly focuses on sustainability.

Year 9 and 10 students have the option to choose Agricultural Science as an elective. These students study a range of topics including hydroponics experiment, dairy (Cows Create Careers program run by Dairy Australia) and beef cattle (on site) and poultry (feed trial). Students participate in the, a poultry feed trial. Year 9 students have begun to investigate the GPS cows technology and plan to continue investigations in term 2.

We also offer Year 11 and 12 Agricultural Science, Agricultural Practices, and Certificate II Rural Operations. These programs include excursions to local farms and industries to study sustainability and farming for market requirements, cattle feed trials and practical on-site activities.

When students first engaged with this technology they were interested in the real life applications and potential for GPS cow tracking. Tacking our school based herd of Brahman cattle students’ investigated movement and location of cattle in extreme heat. They discussed cattle pace and related this to grazing behaviors. Students were most excited to engage with the technologies hypothesizing about it potential.

We are a small, regional, all-girls school, with a very healthy enrolment in agricultural programs. Every student in the school participates in an agriculture subject through curriculum time. In addition to that, in 2018, one lesson per week is timetabled for additional agriculture/STEM subject with teachers collaborating across other subject areas to enhance the opportunity in this area.

As well as accessing agriculture through curriculum, the students have opportunity to participate in Cattle Club as a cocurricular activity.

We are looking forward to our involvement in GPS Cows as a way of extending our students understanding of the future possibilities in agriculture. Particularly in agriculture, we are preparing our students for many unknowns and we need to give them as much access as possible to a range of possible “game-changers” in order to them to cultivate ideas for their own future careers.

Access Ag, students study English, Maths and Ag Practices through Capricornia School of Distance Education, as well as their Certificate II in Agriculture. The Certificate II offers two streams, General and Livestock. The certificate offers a range of units surrounding machinery, livestock, horses and cropping. All students will be participating in the GPS Cows program.

We are excited to utilise new technology to help answer some questions on animal behaviour.

Educating the pride of the Atherton community for over half a century. Situated in the lush tropical highlands of Far North Queensland, Atherton State High School is at the heart of our country community. Academic excellence, a supportive community and strong values allow Atherton SHS students to spread their wings.

The Agriculture Department has strong enrolments in Agricultural Science from grades 8 through to 12. As well as training students Certificate II in Animal Studies in grades 11 and 12. Our year 7 program runs through a science unit and allows students to gain knowledge in both plants and animals.

The schools facilities include both a Charbray and Murray Grey stud along with meat and dairy goats, purebred chickens, bee hives,  an orchard, cropping areas, robotic garden, nursery and machinery sheds to name a few.

As an extra curricula activity we also run three (3) lunch time clubs in cattle, goats and chickens which are ever popular, with many students participating. These all lead to participation in community events such as Agricultural Show.

Students and staff alike are excited about working with GPS Cows as it allows the implementation of new technologies into the curriculum. With a large focus on STEM in Education Queensland the GPS cows project has been an eye open to the students. It has allowed students to get hands on with animals and to utilise mapping software. With continued work in the project management decisions will be made, for example grazing management and fertiliser requirements for the schools livestock herds.

Ag is offered in yrs 7 and 9 – 12.  Junior years is predominately a broad brush approach to ag whereas in the senior years the students have the options of 2 pathways.  Cert II in Rural operations or OP Eligible Senior Agricultural Science

Ag Industry is one of the feaster adopters and developers of new technologies.  The chance to show students some of the latest innovations is exciting especially with the soon to be rolled out Ag science syllabus which has a unit on technologies.

Our Agriculture program is available for students from year 7 through to year 12. We offer junior agriculture courses and in Senior year we offer agricultural practices, agricultural science as well as certificates in animal studies and rural operations. We also offer junior and senior show team.

We are excited to be involved because of the opportunities to learn about aspects of cattle behaviour we might not otherwise be able to learn about. The trackers give us an opportunity to design experiments, collect and analyse data to discover things we can’t just look up online.