Bron Ford, left, from DAF at Gatton, and Sue Francis, right, from Kingaroy State High School, with students learning about fresh fruit and vegetables, and how they become packaged food stuffs
September 11, 2016
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries grounds in Kingaroy were all abuzz on Friday with students studying everything from alpacas to honey bees.
AgForce, in conjunction with DAF, organised a demonstration day for students designed to interest them in a career in primary production or allied industries.
Tanya Nagle, from AgForce’s School to Industry Partnership Program in Brisbane, said the students were divided into groups which then visited stalls set up by different industry groups.
At the Peanut Company of Australia site, students had the opportunity to grind peanuts into peanut paste; while at the South Burnett Wine Industry Association stall, other students were crushing grapes to make “must”, which they were then testing for sugar content using a hydrometer.
At the Bean Growers Australia site, students were learning about the importance of testing stock water for salinity, as well as how soil tests can determine how much moisture will be retained in the soil.
And at the Queensland Beekeepers Association site, students were learning how commercial beehives are constructed and maintained by beekeepers to produce honey.
Students taking part came from Kingaroy and Nanango State High schools, St John’s Lutheran School, Yarraman P-9 and Proston P-10 plus a home school student.
Breana Ogden (Year 9), Chanelle Paterson (Year 9) and Oliver Rees (Year 7) with “Zayel”, from Nerimbera Alpacas
Year 8 home school student Jack Ponder with Greg Horrock, from Biosecurity Queensland, and “Sally”, a retired sniffer dog … dogs like this are used to detect pests such as Asian bees
Stephen Upton, from Kingaroy Veterinary Surgery, with Year 11 KSHS student Mitchell Hunter and a Macquarie River turtle which is recovering after being struck by a motor vehicle
Kingaroy State High School students learning all about beekeeping and honey from beekeepers Rick Jensen, from Hodgeleigh, and Kayle Finlay, from GympieYear 9 student Maddison Cook is shown the correct way to start a small petrol motor by Ron Trace, from TAFE Qld South WestSimon Berry, from Kingsley Grove Wines, supervises as students crush grapes into mustNeil Mungall and Ian Crosthwaite, from Bean Growers Australia, explaining soil and water tests to students from Yarraman P-9 … the students learned how to test for salinity in water samplesKyal Grant, from KG Farriery at Nanango, explains to Year 8 students from Yarraman P-9 how he makes and fits the many different types of horseshoes
Great to see Dr Stephen Upton showing students how diverse and interesting the work of a veterinarian can be.