News

Certificate in Animal Wellbeing (Dairy) Programme

Date: June 1st, 2022

Believed to be a world first, a new training programme focusing on the benefits of animal wellbeing has been developed by QCONZ in collaboration with UCOL, Fonterra and DairyNZ.

Designed for dairy farm owners, managers and 2ICs, the programme goes beyond welfare compliance, and focuses on the benefits to be gained through affordable, practical, good animal care practices.

In addition to learning a simplified version of condition scoring and detection of early signs of lameness, the course covers heat stress management, time budgeting and animal wellbeing planning.

The training involves some on-line learning, a one-day workshop, followed by skills practice and an on-farm assessment. Those who successfully complete the course will be awarded a Level 4 Certificate in animal Wellbeing (Dairy)

Click here for more information: awb.qconz.co.nz

Click her to register your interest with QCONZ: https://qconz.co.nz/certificate-in-animal-wellbeing/

Other news

In late October Chris Leach led an MPI dairy development training programme for farmers and extension officers in Pak Chong, Thailand. Pak Chong is the central region of Thailand, approximately a 2 ½ hour drive north of Bangkok, and is at the centre of the developing Thai Dairy Industry. 

We were thrilled to be a major sponsor of the New Zealand Association of Resource Management (NZARM) conference held in Christchurch in October.

We flew the QCONZ flag again this year at the annual Red Meat Sector Conference, jointly hosted by the Meat Industry Association and Beef + Lamb New Zealand Ltd.

As of 1 October, the QCONZ team will be delivering audits for the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP). We have been working hard behind the scenes to get systems and processes in place, and from August farmers can expect to start hearing from us regarding audit bookings.

QCONZ proudly sponsored the Milk Quality Conference in Hamilton on the 4th and 5th July. Attended by 125, this was a great opportunity for engagement and collaboration between industry and service providers in the Dairy sector.

In June, the QCONZ team gathered in Hamilton for our biennial staff conference. We had a great time bringing our team together from all corners of New Zealand to celebrate, connect, and have fun! Day one of the conference kicked off with a business update and group sessions where each business unit shared recent work

QCONZ was proud to be a sponsor of the recent Central Plateau and BOP Dairy Industry Awards, where we celebrated the successes of local farmers and connected with future industry leaders.

The Team at QCONZ is very proud, and excited, to announce that we’ve been chosen by New Zealand Farm Assurance Incorporated (NZFAI) and their Members to deliver audits and associated services for their programmes from 1 October 2023.

QCONZ has joined forces with DairyNZ to help deliver their ‘on-farm survey of workforce productivity.’ Our team will visit approximately 150 farms nationwide conducting a 60–90-minute survey with farm owners and managers by March 2023.

A big thumbs up to the organisers of the 2022 ITENZ conference which provided a great networking and learning opportunity for Tertiary Providers. This conference themes of courage, collaboration, capability, and creativity reflected the changing times and the new opportunities for the education sector.