02 June 2023
Our Year 12 Agricultural Systems students ventured out to Roseworthy to participate in some out of the class, hands-on experiences. The group first visited the research facilities for Australian Grain Technologies (AGT). The company generates new varieties of wheat through selective breeding using genetic stock from all across Australia’s cropping zone. New wheat varieties are grown, harvested and the wheat milled into flour then tested on site for baking different styles of bread and pasta. The objective of AGT is to find the right genetic combination to obtain elite quality standards. We then trekked across to the Roseworthy Campus of the University of Adelaide.
Here students were given a presentation on the various degrees on offer in the animal health and veterinary science courses. Under pleasant sunshine, we walked around the campus and were shown through the various animal husbandry facilities. The university maintains stocks of cattle, dairy, sheep, pigs, horses and alpacas on site as well as an aquaculture facility and a functioning veterinarian clinic. Students then got to test their own heat rates by attaching themselves to ECG machines. We also considered animal nutrition and looked at various microbial samples under the microscopes.
Belinda Cay from the Agricultural Communicators rounded off the tour with a presentation on some of the research projects underway at the University. Through our visit to both AGT and the University of Adelaide, our students were exposed to some of the latest cutting-edge research in both animal and plant sciences.
Dr Steven Polyak
Teacher