Professional development opportunity for people working in Agriculture
For people with past studies or experience who want to develop specialised knowledge in a particular aspect of agriculture.
- Professional Development
- Self paced course, start any time, study from anywhere
- Broaden or deepen your knowledge of Agriculture
- Improve work prospects on the farm, in farm services or related industries
A course of study designed for people who already hold qualifications and/or experience in the discipline. Work with our expert student counselling team to develop a course which leads you where you need to go. Through identifying your current and desired skillsets, understanding and knowledge, ACS will support you to create a course which can 'fill in the blanks', further develop areas of interest and build on current experiences.
This is an experiential learning-based course. Throughout your studies you will have the opportunity to network with and learn from a variety of industry professionals. Establishing real-world relationships and confidence is key to career success.
Modules
Note that each module in the Specialist Award in Agriculture is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
Tips for Keeping Healthy Animals
The farmer needs to be familiar with the normal, vital signs of his animals, so that he can recognise signs of ill health.
The vital signs include:
- Pulse rate
- Respiration rate
- Body temperature
These signs should be measured at rest.
In addition to vital signs, the farmer should continually observe the natural habits and behaviour of stock. Any changes in behaviour should be investigated immediately as it could be due to illness.
The earlier a farmer can treat sick animals, the better. Illness causes individual cells in the animal to break down and die. If treatment is started quickly, the cells can be stopped from degenerating. If treatment is delayed, the damage done by illness can be considerable, including loss of condition and irreparable organ damage.
A healthy animal will be interested in food. It will graze as normal, or in the case of penned animals, look forward to the next feed. It will drink its normal amount of water (this is easily checked with penned animals, but more difficult with animals out grazing).
Healthy animals appear bright and alert and show a normal response to humans (i.e. probably moving away as you approach if it is a grazing animal, or approaching if it is very used to human company). Brightness is most apparent in the eyes. The animal will show interest in unusual noises and sights.
The healthy animal's coat and skin will be supple and in good condition. Hair is one of the first parts of the body to register ill health, and it will also look dull if the animal is lacking some essential vitamins or minerals.
The colour of the mucous membrane is a good indicator of health, as it shows the condition of the blood. Mucous membrane is found around the eye, on the gums, inside the mouth, and at the entrance to the anus. In healthy animals, it should show a salmon pink colouring (but not vivid red).
The healthy animal will pass the normal number of droppings per day; and the droppings will be neither too loose or too dry for the type of livestock, and will be passed easily. If you press your ear to the side of the animal, you should be able to hear rumbling noises -signs that the digestive system is working. The healthy animal will also pass normal coloured urine.
Ruminants which are in good health will spend the normal number of hours chewing the cud. Healthy animals will also spend a normal number of hours resting each day. Again, by watching the animals day-to-day, you will notice the changes that occur in the animal's habits if they do become ill.
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