test your sustain-ability
DESCRIPTION
Test Your Sustain-Ability. Play. Sustain. Gain. Welcome to James Ruse Agricultural High School. The James Ruse School Farm has been looking for a manager who can run our farm Effectively… Efficiently… and most importantly of all… Sustainably. Countless have tried before and failed… - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Test Your Sustain-AbilityPlay. Sustain. Gain.
Welcometo
James RuseAgricultural High
School
The James Ruse School Farm has been looking for a manager who can run our farmEffectively…
Efficiently…and most importantly of all…Sustainably.
Countless have tried before and failed…
…doomed to be forgotten in the relentless march of history…
But those who achieve victory……will win eternal fame and glory…
NEXT
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT
TAKES??NEXT
You have two weeks to prove that you’ve got what it takes to successfully manage the farm and secure your place amongst the school’s farming heroes.You will be asked to make a series of decisions. Click on the choice you make to find out if your decision was correct. Click the NEXT button to continue to your next task. NEXT
Remember to choose the most sustainable option available.Record your point score on a sheet of paper and then check the scoreboard at the end to see how you went.Good luck…and happy farming!
NEXT
Day 1Your first task is to prepare the vegetable plots for the first crop by using a tillage tool for soil preparation.
Day 1 Do you use :
A chisel plough A rotary hoe
You Chose…The Chisel Plough
Hooray! You chose a ‘low tillage’ practice. The structure of the soil remains intact, with the aggregates still present. The soil is soft and
aerated. Any hard pans have been broken up with compaction being reduced. There won’t be too much erosion, so organic matter is kept to
return nutrients to the soil. The crop is planted in light, airy soil.
The right choice!
Points: +2 NEXT
You Chose…
The Rotary HoeOh dear…the soil no longer has structure – aggregates have been shattered and soil
clumps have been broken up. There is now a high chance of erosion. To make matters worse, there is heavy rainfall over the next week and most of the soil from the plots is washed away.
Points: -2NEXT
Day 2It has been raining heavily and the soil is very wet, but you wanted to plough an area of land for your crops.Do you:Go ahead and plough when wet
Wait until the soil is dry
You Chose…
To Plough When Wet
After you have finished ploughing, you realise that the soil has hardened into a pan
– it’s impossible to plant anything here.You must spend time and resources to
prepare the land yet again.
Points: -2NEXT
You Chose…
To Plough When DryThe soil is ready for planting. It’s well aerated and not too hard and compacted. Your seeds
will be able to grow and spread their roots easily to take in nutrients from the soil. Your
crop is on its way to becoming a success. Well done!
Points: +2
NEXT
Day 3It’s time to choose which variety of sweet corn to plant!Which variety do you use?Normal variety (Early Chief)
Disease resistant variety (Bandit)
You Chose…
Early ChiefOh no! The corn crops were growing well but were attacked by a sudden outbreak of rust. Most of your plants
have been infected by this contagious fungal disease and died.
Points: -2 NEXT
You Chose…
BanditPhew! Your choice of using a disease resistant crop means that the plants
haven’t been severely affected by the sudden outbreak of rust.
Points: +2NEXT
Day 4It’s time to choose your row spacing as you start planting your corn seeds. You have to decide the best way to increase yield. Do you:Plant more seeds closer together
Plant fewer seeds but space them out
You Chose…To Plant More Seeds Closer
TogetherYou’ve got more plants growing, so you’ll get a larger harvest
right? Unfortunately, you haven’t considered that planting your seeds so close together means that they have to
compete with each other for nutrients, so the quality of your harvest will be compromised. What’s more, planting them so close together makes them more susceptible to the spread
of diseases and pests like rust and Heliothis.
Points: -2NEXT
You Chose…
To Space Out Your SeedsEven though this means that you’ve got less plants growing, they don’t have as much competition from each other so each plant can produce good, high-
quality corn. Not only that, with spaced out plants, air flow and circulation is improved so the spread of
diseases like rust can be reduced.
Points: +2
NEXT
Day 5You’ve decided to fertilise your newly planted crop to encourage growth. Do you use:Organic fertiliser (Dynamic Lifter)
Non-organic fertiliser
You Chose…
Dynamic LifterYAY! Three cheers for you! Your crops
have slow release of nutrients and the soil is very fertile from the rich organic
material which means your plants will grow quicker. Well Done!
Points: +2NEXT
You Chose…Non-organic FertiliserYour plants are growing but the soil is becoming
infertile and harder to grow on! It has poor nutrient levels. Your plants die anyway from poor soil.
Remember to think SUSTAINABLE and what is best for the farm! You have to re-fertilise the soil and this has
cost your time and money.
Points: -2 NEXT
Day 6It’s time to start irrigating the crop. Remember that you have a limited supply of water, so you need to choose an efficient system.Do you use:Drip Irrigation
Surface Irrigation
You Chose…
Drip IrrigationAlthough you have to spend more money to get the system set up and all the pipes laid down, the water is delivered individually to
each plant and efficiency is increased. You’re not wasting water, and so you’re reducing your costs in the long run. Good choice!
Points: +2NEXT
You Chose…
Surface IrrigationAlthough you don’t have to spend as much
money setting up your irrigation system, you find that this method has led to waterlogging,
salinization and deep drainage problems. Your crop is starting to suffer, and you’re going to
have to spend money trying to fix the soil. Tough luck!
Points: -2NEXT
Day 7Now it’s time to add final touches to the soil to increase production. Do you choose to:Mulch
Not Mulch
You Chose…
MulchingMulch is organic material used to cover
weeds and protect the moisture from leaving the plant. By choosing this
sustainable choice, your plants grow quicker with less competition.
Points: +2NEXT
You Chose…
Not to MulchAre you sure? This method is cheaper BUT
your plants have less resistance against weeds and in a hot climate your crop will
quickly lose moisture and perish. Your level of production is lower, you make less money.
Points: -2
NEXT
Day 8Oh No! It’s rust season and your crop is under threat from those red brown fungi, but you’re short on time and money. Do you:Leave the plants
Buy expensive fungicide and spray
You Chose…
To Leave the PlantsEven though you’ve saved money and time,
the fungal disease has spread rapidly throughout your crop and destroyed most of
your plants. Unfortunately, this means you’ve lost most of this season’s harvests. Better luck
next time!
Points: -2NEXT
You Chose…
To Spray FungicideEven though you had to spend a lot of
time and money, your crops are safe from rust and are continuing to grow well. You’ll probably earn most of your money back from your successful harvest. Good job!
Points: +2NEXT
Day 9You successfully planted a year’s corn crop. But what about next year? What do you do with the empty land? Do you:Leave it there
Rotate with other available land, planting legumes and grasses
You Chose…
Leave As It IsIt has no use anyway, right? WRONG! This
land is very important and should be allowed to regenerate for planting next year. You come back months later and find it is infertile and eroded. Not good.
Points: -2NEXT
You Chose…
Rotate and RevegetateYES! By rotating the land, it allows the land to
recover and regain nutrients for next year whilst also preventing erosion. You find the
land fertile and reusable for next year and the next.
Points: +2
NEXT
CONGRATULATIONS!
After successfully harvesting your sweet corn crop and managing your vegetable plot, it’s not over yet!Now it’s time to move over to the animal enterprise...
NEXT
Day 10You only have a limited number of paddocks on the farm, but you have to both graze cattle and grow crops on the land you have. Do you:Annually rotate paddocks between grazing cattle and growing crops
Allocate certain paddocks specifically for either grazing cattle or growing crops year after year
You Chose…
To Annually Rotate Your Paddocks
Good job! Annually rotating your paddocks between grazing cattle and growing crops means that your soils doesn’t become to deficient in nutrients from growing crops, nor does it become overgrazed or compacted
from the cattle. It’s worth the extra work organising and managing everything after all.
Points: +2NEXT
You Chose…
To Allocate Paddocks Specifically
Even though you can get off with less organising and managing paddock rotation, you find that after a few
years, the paddocks that have been used for continuous crop growing have become deficient in nutrients, and the
paddocks that have been used for cattle grazing are in fact overgrazed and now have hard, compacted soil from
the animals’ trampling. Maybe the extra organisation would have been better!
Points: -2 NEXT
Day 11You’ve now chosen the area of land where your cattle will be grazing. Do you choose to adopt:Continuous Grazing
Strip/Rotational Grazing
You Chose…
Continuous GrazingEven though you don’t have to worry about the
hassles of moving cattle from place to place, the pasture has a higher risk of becoming overgrazed, the soil is compacted from the
cattle trampling and certain internal parasites are starting to infect your cattle.
Points: -2NEXT
You Chose…
Strip/Rotational GrazingIt takes more work, time and effort moving the cattle
from one area to another, and you’ve spent more money purchasing the portable fencing system, but
your pasture and soil are healthier, and you’ve broken up the life cycle of those pesky internal
parasites, so your cattle are healthier too!
Points: +2
NEXT
Day 12It’s a busy time of year and you’re preoccupied with lots of other jobs, but you need to decide whether or not to prioritise your remaining tasks with the cattle.Do you choose to:Vaccinate
Not vaccinate
You Chose…
To VaccinateYou had to spend more time and money buying the vaccine and carrying out the vaccinations, but now you can rest much
easier knowing your herd is protected against many diseases.
Points: +2NEXT
You Chose…
To Not VaccinateWell, you have saved a lot of time and money so you could get other jobs done, but a few months later, your cattle are starting to get infected by
various diseases. You need to spend more money buying medicine to cure them. Perhaps it would
have been better to just get the vaccinations done and over with beforehand.
Points: -2NEXT
Day 13Bad news! You’re running seriously short on funds, but you were going to buy a drenching gun and medicine. Do you choose to:Drench
Not Drench
You Chose…
To DrenchYour funds are almost depleted, but you’ve
managed to drench your entire herd. None of them get sick, and as a result, they grow
healthily. Even better, at the end of the year, you reap high profits from the good quality
beef carcasses.
Points: +2NEXT
You Chose…
To Not DrenchYou’ve managed to save the remaining funds you
have, but later on your cattle are afflicted by various diseases. Some cattle die, others have
reduced growth due to illness. Your profits plummet at the end of the year because your beef
carcasses aren’t all that good in quality. Better luck next time.
Points: -2NEXT
Judgement Day< 8 points: Good try. Unfortunately, this job just doesn’t seem right for you. Instead of considering a career change, though, try again next time!10 – 18 points: Good work! You are highly commended for your efforts. Keep working hard and you’ll definitely become a top farm manager.20 – 24 points: Well done! You’ve demonstrated your impressive sense of judgement. You’re almost at the top!26 points: Full marks! Amazing! You are the elite of the elite, demonstrating shrewd judgement and thorough knowledge of sustainable practices. Congratulations on becoming the next Farm Manager of James Ruse. You can join the ranks of other legendary farm managers throughout the school’s history. Be proud! More
about JRAHS
The Real James RuseHere at the James Ruse Agricultural School Farm, we do in fact carry out heaps of sustainable practices to help our enterprises run more efficiently and productively without negative impacts on the environment.
Acknowledgements
The Real James Ruse cont…
Some of the things we do include:• Place wood chips for mulch around our peach
and orange orchard trees• Cycle products between enterprises, e.g.
chicken manure is used as organic fertiliser on our vegetable plots.
• Timed drip irrigators are used on our orchard trees to reduce water wastage
• Hay is used as mulch on vegetable plots• Annual crop rotation is carried out with class
vegetable plotsAcknowledgemen
ts
The Real James Ruse cont…..
• Kikuyu grass is allowed to grow around orange and peach trees for mulching purposes
• Pasture rotation is carried out with our grazing sheep and cattle
• The school uses disease resistant crops• The school regularly carries out practices such
has vaccinations, drenching and utilises strip grazing with the cattle
• Every year, we rotate areas of land between grazing pastures for the animals and vegetable plots for the students.
Acknowledgements
AcknowledgmentsWe thank the respective owners for these photos:• http://www.freefoto.com/preview/• http://haysvillelibrary.files.wordpress.
com/• http://www.arts-wallpapers.com/• http://1.bp.blogspot.com/
Created by Cherie Chen et al James Ruse High School
GOLD SILVERPLATINUM
BRONZE
WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE 2011 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION