This article first appeared in our sister publication, Dairy Farmer.
Dairy Training offers a range of free training courses across New Zealand, including online options. They provide the opportunity to upskill yourself and your team, with short courses and workshops, through to full programmes – there is something for everyone.
Courses are designed for dairy employees, self-employed farmers and rural professionals, to improve capability throughout the industry.
There are four great course offerings, to allow you to choose what is best suited to your current needs. These include:
• Progression Management, which helps develop the skills needed to progress in the industry. You can improve how you interact with others, build confidence in use of industry tools and technology, and learn how to identify areas for improvement on farm, take control of personal finances and plan for a rewarding career.
• Business by the Numbers provides vital budgeting skills to manage the challenge of rising business costs. The course steps through the process of preparing and monitoring accurate farm budgets to stay on top of farm finances and have the confidence to achieve your longer-term goals.
• Write a Business Plan helps step farmers through the process of writing a five-year business plan including clarifying your goals and determining how you’ll get there, helping to make this a little less daunting.
• The Contract Milking course covers contract milking responsibilities, helps assess the viability of contracts and navigate potential risks, and helps set you up for success on your self-employment journey. It is suited to both current and future contract milkers and sharemilkers.
Previous students have great insight from the training. Jo Jagger, a Southland contract milker, attended last year’s Business by the Numbers class in Winton to improve her literacy around the financial aspect of her business, including interpreting and creating budgets.
“After attending the course my confidence in interpreting a budget and analysing its finer points and information was increased,” Jagger says.
“I recommend the course as we had an excellent facilitator, and the small group size allowed us to have some meaningful discussions and analysis around our own business.”
Upcoming 2023 courses include:
There are some courses available throughout May and June, with more courses being launched in October. Sign up early to secure your spot!
• Write a Business Plan – Ashburton, May 3, May 17, May 31
• Business by the numbers – Whangārei, May TBC, Gore, May 4, May 18 and June 1
• Contract Milking – range of courses in October across Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Manawatū, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland.
• Progression Management – Takaka ( April 19, April 26, May 10, May 24, June 7, June 21, July 5, July 12 , July 19, and July 26; Ashburton and Te Awamutu– underway
MORE: Information on the courses and dates is available at dairytraining.co.nz
