Industry Cadetship Program

APL Scholarships

Australian Pork Industry Scholarship

An Animal Science Student’s Experiences

Katie Humphrey talks about her experiences on the placement:

I believe my work experience at the piggery was fully worthwhile.   I learnt basic stock handling skills, as well as a great deal about the behaviour of the animals.  I learnt the processes involved from birth to breeding, and culling of the animal for meat.  I learnt about the importance of welfare, quarantine, vaccination and treatment of illness/disease to maintain a healthy herd.  I was taught about safe workplace operations and OH&S.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about pigs and the pork industry, and met many fantastic people in the industry who were so generous and willing to share knowledge with me.  I learnt many invaluable communication skills that will be useful for me in any workplace I choose to work in the future.

I believe the scholarship is a fantastic way for students to gain an insight into the many career opportunities available in the pork industry.  Through my scholarship experiences at the piggery, I have decided to strongly consider a career in the pork industry once I complete my degree.  Before this work experience I had never considered working in this industry.

Read more below.

Background: Two students from La Trobe University spent 10 weeks working at a large Piggery during the summer vacation.  They gained training and experiences in a wide range of areas including: animal husbandry, animal behaviour, breeding programs, quality assurance, disease recognition and control, growth rates, animal nutrition, production monitoring, irrigation, effluent and ground water monitoring plus sustainable farm practices. 

Activities undertaken: I was based at the piggery sheds for my first two days.  Here I was involved in feeding, and learnt the basics of handling and pig behaviour.  I found this was a good introduction to the farm operations as I had not had any previous experience with pigs.

I spent the majority of my time in the farrowing house. I was involved in general activities such as feeding, stock counts and stock moving, as well as vaccinations, drenching of piglets, processing litters, and assistance with weaning.  I learnt the importance of controlling the environment in the sheds, and how to set up sheds before farrowing.  I was involved in morning and afternoon fostering of litters, the medicine run for sows and piglets (I spent a lot of time concentrating on this), assisting sows with farrowing, and also post mortems for disease recognition.  I was taught the importance of data entry for activities such as medications, fostering and stock counts.

I spent two days in the Boar shed.  During this time I was taught how to detect sows in oestrus, carry out AI, and select semen to inseminate sows (depending on the line of the sow).  In the dry sow house, I was taught how to determine sows that are ‘returns’ (not in pig), and how to perform pregnancy tests.

I spent one day in the Finisher sheds. I was involved in selection of the breeding stock (based on back fat, tail fat and overall fitness of the animal), and learnt of traits that determine an animal unsuitable for selection (ie. splays, low teat capacity, blind nipples, cysts).  

I spent one day with an Environmental Officer taking groundwater samples to measure the effects of irrigation and effluent ponds on minerals in the groundwater.  I was taught about the importance of maintaining sustainable farm activities, and the basics in management of effluent from the farm.

I spent one day at the abattoirs.  Here I saw the process from slaughter to slicing of meat, and learnt about the different parts of pig used for various pork products.  I was also involved in marking carcasses required for testing to follow up research carried out by the R&D module.

Skills/Knowledge Acquired: Through my scholarship at the piggery I learnt a great deal about pigs and the pig industry. I was also able to develop my communication and team working skills, and gained a good insight into the industry and what sort of job opportunities are available when I finish my university degree.

I would like to extend my thanks to APL , the Industry Cadetship Program and staff at the piggery for giving me this fantastic opportunity.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any student considering a job in an agricultural or animal industry.

A Cadetship working with Birds

Imagine this; you are at work when a gentleman in a lab coat comes in. He tells you he would like your assistance in investigating a group of chooks. I was lucky enough to be able to assist a veterinarian with such studies during my cadetship.

Last summer I undertook a cadetship. A cadetship is a period of paid work experience organised between La Trobe University and an employer. I, as a 3rdyear Animal Science student, was fortunate enough to be able to undertake my cadetship at Kinross Egg Farm, located about an hour north of the university.  Kinross raises chickens from day olds to produce eggs for both the commercial market and vaccine production. It is actually one of the largest egg producers in Victoria.

Kinross produces, grades and packages infertile eggs to go to many retail outlets, including Coles and Safeway.  It also produces fertile eggs in the barn style systems, to be incubated on the farm before being transported to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory (CSL). These eggs are then incubated further, injected with a virus and the antibodies collected to eventually be used for the vaccine we are injected with. This is usually for the yearly flu and the avian influenza virus. When preparing CSL eggs care must be taken to ensure no contamination occurs, so there is to be no contact with any foreign material.

The farm consists of 6 sheds, which are used until the birds reach 18 weeks. Around this time they will begin to lay so they need to be moved into the layer sheds and Kinross currently have 14 of these impressive sheds. Much expense is spent to ensure the birds are cared for, using the most advanced technology.

In the three months, I looked after the young chicks, learnt how the technical systems operated, made pasteurised egg products and incubated eggs for CSL. The technical systems are employed to ensure all the sheds are kept at optimal temperature and humidity. The feed and water intake is also monitored closely to ensure the overall wellbeing of both the growers and the layers. The knowledge for the use of the systems is backed up by what we learn in first year about how important it is to care for animals correctly.  I was shown how to vaccinate for various diseases. This reinforced my immunology studies.

Kinross makes all its own food in their mill. They get tonnes of different types of grain delivered daily, so they can mill their food and know it has no added chemicals. This is a specialised process and it is imperative that the person making the food, follows the instructions of the veterinarian who designed the feeding regime. I was able to see our nutritional studies in action.

The CSL laboratory on the farm is designed with the ultimate ideas in a specialized laboratory.  If any contamination were to occur, it would be a disaster for both the farm and CSL.  

Kinross always does its best to ensure the health of the birds. After all, unhappy birds won’t lay. So every expense is spent to keep them well, happy and relaxed. This requires that the number off eggs be counted daily, as it reflects the general wellbeing.

I learnt so much over the three months and this really motivates you to continue your education. It reinforces what you have studied and backs up the reasons for it. A cadetship will extend your career options and give you more experiences, which you can put on your resume. Following my cadetship, I have also been lucky enough to be offered part time employment.

I would recommend a cadetship to anyone interested in expanding your options and learning while you work. If you would like this wonderful opportunity keep an eye on the board outside Val Sandeman’s office in the R.L.Reid Building. When you apply, it is just like applying for any other job. I definitely recommend it.  

The Kinross staff are an excellent group of people who helped me make the best of this opportunity. I would like to thank them and also all the members of the university who helped this come true.

Jessick Kendrick

Animal Science Student