New animal welfare and ICT skills training packages have been launched for Welsh farmers to boost professional development.
Two new skills development programmes have been launched on Monday (26 November) at this year’s Royal Welsh Winter Fair.
The animal welfare package sets out to encourage livestock farmers to complete the fully funded short training courses linked to the Welsh Government’s animal health and welfare priorities.
Each course will cover an introduction to animal health planning to prevent disease, disease transmission, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control alongside considering the economic impact that disease has on a business.
The training, developed jointly by Farming Connect and the National Animal Disease Information Service (NADIS), will be delivered by veterinary practices throughout Wales from early next year.
It will include modules on: countering antibiotic and anthelmintic resistance; animal health planning, bovine TB eradication; Johne’s disease control; lameness reduction; reducing mastitis and lambing losses.
The training is designed to complement the support for animal health planning that is being made available to dairy, beef and sheep farmers through the RDP Strategic Initiative.
The first window for applications for the AHDB Dairy-led scheme for dairy farmers, HerdAdvance, was opened by the Cabinet Secretary at the Welsh Dairy Show on October 30th. The equivalent for beef and sheep producers, led by the HCC, will be opened at the Winter Fair.
Wales' Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said: “Focusing on the use of the latest knowledge, finding innovative efficient ways of working and continuous professional development are some of the most important and significant contributors to help us ensure our farm businesses continue to be competitive and productive.
“For many farmers, this training will be critical to them learning how to identify, control and eradicate disease. This will not only improve animal health and welfare but also the economic resilience of their business which can, as many farmers know to their cost, so easily be decimated by disease.
“By providing training on areas ranging from farm biosecurity and the importance of animal health planning to specific disease and husbandry issues, we can support farmers to move away from fire-fighting by enabling them to implement proactive, effective health planning,” she added.
ICT skills
The Cabinet Secretary also launched a new ICT training programme. Farmers with little or no IT skills can attend a two-hour session per week for six weeks, after which each learner is expected to have the knowledge to make use of computer-based activities, relative to their business needs.
In addition, farmers will have the option of receiving two home visits from an IT tutor, which can cover a range of topics focusing on specific problems or weaknesses identified in an advance short telephone assessment.
Individuals with more advanced IT skills will be encouraged to apply for fully funded IT training workshops, held throughout Wales, when the focus will be on business development through topics including social media; internet security; online benchmarking, banking and tax or VAT services; drone technology and GPS and precision farming.
Farmers applying for this training will need to be registered with Farming Connect. All courses completed will be automatically recorded into clients’ CPD records on the Business Wales BOSS website, and receive a Lantra certificate of attendance.
