Cows Create Careers

Cows Create Careers is a Dairy Australia project.

Established in 2004 by the Strzelecki Lions Club, the Cows Create Careers project promotes career and education opportunities in the dairy industry across vocational and university pathways.

The Gardiner Foundation provided seed funding in 2005 to expand the project to all dairying regions of Victoria. In 2006, Dairy Australia agreed to support the growth of the project to other States of Australia.

The project involves secondary students from years 7-11 who take an active part in learning about the industry while caring for dairy calves. Local farmers and a local dairy industry professional, such as a vet, a dairy company field officer, an agronomist or a cheesemaker, work with the students to teach them about different aspects of the dairy industry.

Students get to experience caring for heifer calves, which are on loan from the farmers. Educational activities are structured around science smorgasbords, and around feeding and monitoring the calves as they grow.

In teams, students present a datashow and produce a research poster that showcases their experiences and what they have learned. They also write a thank you letter to their farmer and industry representatives and create a newsletter as part of the school curriculum. A final presentation and awards ceremony concludes the Cows Create Careers experience in school.

In 2009, the Cows Create Careers project was delivered to 167 schools and 5,845 students across 20 dairyingregions of Australia. Over 145 farmers and 160 industry mentors volunteered their time to share their knowledge with students about a wide range of practical and professional career pathways, such as agricultural science, agronomy, dairy farming, nutrition, finance, manufacturing and dairy extension pathways.

Please refer to the 2009 Cows Create Careers Annual Report for further information and outcomes of the project.
 

Click on the brochure below to see an enlarged version.