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Introduction to Telford Farm Units
Telford
Rural Polytechnic began as the Telford Farm Training
Institute in 1964, resulting from successful
negotiations by a group of South Otago residents who
were keen to see an agricultural training facility
established in the area. The land was made available
from the family of William Telford and it is
administered by the Telford Farm Board of Management
(the Board) according to the terms of the Telford Act of
Parliament 1964.
The
History of Telford Farm
Telford
operated as the Telford Farm Training Institute without
any government assistance from 1964 to 1974. In 1974 a
partnership was made between Telford Farm Training
Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries,
(MAF), whereby the Board was responsible for the farms
and the MAF was responsible for the education. In 1989,
the Ministry of Education replaced MAF as partner, and
in February 1991, Telford became a polytechnic with a
council elected to operate the campus and educational
facilities, alongside the Board.
Made up of
representatives of a wide range of farming
organisations, which assisted Telford to get
established, the Board has a statutory responsibility
for managing the farms. The purpose of the farms is to
provide a commercially realistic "classroom" for
students to learn practical farming skills
Practical Training
The farms
are commercial operations, providing real farming
experiences for the students. Punctuality,
attitude and willingness to learn are key attributes the
managers are looking for. Students are not expected to
experience all aspects of work on the Telford farms
during the year, but the managers will give as much
variety as possible. Local farmers and high country
stations are becoming increasingly involved with
one-on-one training
Today
Telford has large
commercial scale sheep/beef, dairy, deer and Forestry
units with a total area of 880ha. The farms aim to
perform in the top 25% for their land class and
regularly achieve this. We also conduct a wide range of
research including being the
DairyNZ Otago Regional Dairy Demonstration Farm and a
SIDDIC Dairy
Monitor farm and have contracts with organisations such as
AgResearch and
Clutha Vets for a range of on-farm trials
such as lamb growth, drench efficacy and winter crop
options
Telford Dairy Project Newsletter
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