The texts, titled “Feeding Commercial Poultry” and “The Poultry Growing Environment”, relate directly to units:

• AHCLSK310A – Implement Feeding Programs for Intensive Production, and
• AHCLSK313A – Monitor Livestock Growing Environments.

“Knowledge in these areas is very important in running a successful broiler operation” said Poultry CRC CEO, Professor Mingan Choct, “as feed represents more than 65 per cent of live production cost, and good environmental management is crucial for sustainability of the industry.”

Covers of the latest VET level textbooks.

These text have already been used in classes with students studying the Certificate III in Poultry Production course , with plans for further roll-out of training in 2013. They are freely available to CRC Participants who wish to use them and can also be ordered direct from the printer, PrintWest, using the attached order form.

Dr Sheridan Alfirevich, Poultry CRC intern, has used the CRC materials to provide training to Baiada and ProTen staff in Griffith: “The CRC teaching resources are an invaluable teaching aid for the development and delivery of the new Certificate III in Poultry Production course at Griffith TAFE” she said. “The training and assessment material, along with the student textbooks, provide a core scaffold for structuring and designing the program. Students have found the texts to be practical and informative resources that provide valuable insights into poultry nutrition and husbandry. The texts are factually written to target various levels of understanding and experience. Students have been very positive in their feedback and have really enjoyed using the resources.”

Dr Ron MacAlpine used “Feeding Commercial Poultry” in August 2012 to deliver training to Aviagen farm staff in Coleambally in the areas of poultry nutrition and feeding management practices.

“I was able to use the new CRC book for much of the course content and it proved a very logical guide for this training through basic nutrition, nutrient requirements and feed management on farm” he said.

“The material was up-to-date and reliable and proved well organised for training purposes. The book contains many photographs, some of which were used to help enrich the training experience and student engagement. Improved understanding of practical nutrition and feed management has promoted staff interest and focus in important flock management tasks with benefits all round."

Following the delivery of these courses, the CRC has been able to assist a joint venture of Riverina and New England Campus TAFEs with the preparation of materials. The two TAFEs will roll out a combined Certificate III in Griffith and Tamworth in 2013.

“One advantage of this program is that we will achieve consistency in teaching across the state” said Poultry CRC Education officer, Liz Roan. “If this joint venture proves successful, and we are confident that it will, then we will be able to extend it to other regions in NSW as well as into Queensland and Victoria.”

“This background material has been written by people with many years of experience in the field of poultry. Not only that, but training sessions are delivered by poultry experts and assessment is done in the work place, again by experienced poultry people. I have been very fortunate to have received great support from the industry, with specialists willing to give of their time and share their knowledge for the benefit of the next generation.”

For more information about the student guides, please email [email protected].