FLRC Shortcourses -
Sustainable Nutrient Management in NZ Agriculture
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Two courses are offered - Intermediate and Advanced
FLRC have developed these courses in conjunction with the Fertiliser Manufacturers' Research Association for the accreditation of advisors responsible for safe and effective nutrient management. The courses have also proved popular with staff from Regional and District Councils who have taken the opportunity to improve their knowledge of production issues as society demands greater environmental accountability on the agricultural sector.
The Intermediate Course is focussed on fertiliser recommendations, nutrient budgeting and environmental protection in either pastoral agriculture or orchard and arable production. The courses have proved very popular since being introduced in 2002.
An Advanced Course is also offered with the aim of providing students with an advanced knowledge of nutrient cycling pathways in New Zealand‘s farming systems, allowing them to develop solutions for systems that have unacceptable nutrient loss to the wider environment.
The courses are being referred to in some Regional Plans being produced by Councils and they may become more important if Councils decide to enforce a more formal 'certification' standard on fertiliser consultants.
For full course outlines for All Courses: Click here (pdf file)
For a set of Introductory Notes and Mastery Test: Click Here (pdf file)
For further information on the Intermediate Course: Click Here
and for the Advanced Course: Click Here
To register your interest and for an enrolment form, contact: Lance Currie (Click Here)
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Supplementary Information - Intermediate
To be up to the challenge, participants should have completed at least one tertiary level course in Soil Science or Land Resource Management or have significant practical or professional experience in production agriculture/horticulture or environmental science (you may need to confirm with us that your experience is appropriate).
Participants on the intermediate course must attend a three-day contact course and sit a two-hour examination on the final day.
The course fee for 2012 is $1250pp + gst, and is inclusive of a comprehensive study guide, morning and afternoon teas and lunches. It is up to each participant to arrange their own accommodation.
The three-day contact course is a mix of lectures, tutorials, working with case studies and discussion. Typically, course size is between 20 and 30 participants.
We require that each person bring a laptop computer loaded with the latest version of Overseer® Nutrient Budgets software.
The study guide and some case study information are sent out approximately six weeks prior to the contact course. It is anticipated that participants may spend a significant amount of time in pre-course study, including refreshing their knowledge of the study guide material, loading the case study information into the Overseer model and improving their understanding of the capability of the software.
The Code of Practice for Nutrient Management is embedded within the Overseer® software. Participants should be familiar with the objectives, purpose and scope of the Code.
To be eligible to receive a ‘Certificate of Completion in Sustainable Nutrient Management in New Zealand Agriculture’ participants must attend all sessions of the contact course and pass the two-hour examination on the final day. Fifty percent of the examination is based on the interpretation of a case study (appropriate to the course option) and fifty percent is short answer questions on either the study guide material and/or relating to information that has been reinforced in lectures. Laptop computers are not used during the examination but it is essential to have a calculator.
Courses are scheduled as demand dictates; currently 2-3 courses are held each year at Massey University, Palmerston North Campus. If a company has sufficient numbers for a course and wants to hold this at another venue, this can be arranged. Typically a course is made up of individuals and small groups from a variety of backgrounds.
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Supplementary Information - Advanced
Undertaking the Advanced Course requires a significant commitment of time over a period of about five months. To enrol in this course, participants must have successfully completed the Intermediate Course.
Participants on the Advanced Course must complete four assignments, attend a three-day contact course and sit a two-hour examination. Three of the assignments are nutrient budgeting case studies using the latest version of Overseer® Nutrient Budgets. Case studies include both pastoral and arable examples and are intended to assist students to develop nutrient management plans that meet production goals for actual farm enterprises whilst minimising the negative effects of nutrient losses on the wider environment. The fourth assignment deals with an aspect of recent research addressing nutrient management.
The course fee for 2012 is $1850pp + gst, and is inclusive of a comprehensive study guide, morning and afternoon teas and lunches at the contact course. It is up to each participant to arrange their own accommodation when coming to the contact course.
The three-day contact course is a mix of tutorials, working with case studies and discussion. Typically, course size is about 20 participants. Each person must bring a laptop computer and is expected to give a presentation of a personal case study enterprise, receiving feedback from fellow participants and tutors. Taking on board aspects of this critique, the final assignment is a nutrient budget report of the case study, due to be submitted 3 weeks after the contact course.
Two sessions of the contact course are devoted to presentations and discussion of a selection of recent research initiatives and policy matters that are of current relevance to sustainable nutrient management.
To achieve well in the short course participants will spend a significant amount of time studying the course material and preparing the assignments. To be eligible to receive a ‘Certificate of Completion in Advanced Sustainable Nutrient Management’ participants must complete all assignments, attend all sessions of the contact course and sit the two-hour examination on the final day. The examination is a series of short answer questions relating to nutrient budgeting and recent research. A PASS Grade is achieved by obtaining a minimum of a C Grade (>50%) aggregate of all forms of assessment. Whilst 50% is a PASS grade, participants should be striving for the highest mark possible as an indication of their standing as a rural professional.
Courses are held as demand dictates and are usually run in the first half of the year with contact courses in June/July.