This is my breakdown of my first industry experience as a BBM Pilot Scholar.

I know its a bit long and I tried to be brief but its hard when you have a great day!

On May 20 I went to the Singleton Pasture Field Day with a colleague named Adam Little whom I work with at Ace Ohlsson. I actually first met Adam at the same field site years prior when I was attending Tocal College. He is a very knowledgeable and helpful pastures agronomist and has taught me so much in the six months that I have worked with him.

Learning on the road

On the two hour car trip across to Singleton, Adam gave me a little lesson in animal health, and what animals require from crops. For near two hours I scribbled in my journal. I learned around feed blocks, minerals, dry matter percentages, what months of the year require different feed sources, bloat increases, pastures with high water content, how horses do not like high sugars, the effects of endophytes, and a lot about fertilisers.

I always say to Ads that if I could get a big syringe and suction all the knowledge from his brain and put it into mine that I would. On the trip home after the field day we discussed any queries I had from the field day, and he answered all my questions.

We then had an in depth conversation about my goals and where I was heading for the future. It was very insightful and Ads really did help me break down what I knew myself but had not yet discussed in full detail.

Field Day Learnings

I learnt heaps! The day was held on a Hunter River irrigation farm on the outskirts Singleton, and I walked around and observed a bunch of different pastures and how they work. It was very informative as the pastures were in the ground and I could see with my own eyes what they were achieving.

In my current role I recommend a lot of seeds, so to be able to tie the two together was very insightful. I learnt about smart radish breaking up soil. Late maturing fescues, grazing intervals for pastures, filling feed gaps, even if the plant looks a certain colour if it will be okay for nitrate poisoning.

Points I found really interesting was relating what we are growing in our soil reverting back to animal health. How a particular crop cause produce and sustain enough energy to feed livestock, and how we can manipulate our production plans to produce quality feed. How we can be sustainable! Pastures not be overgrazed, feeding out what stock requires, implementing ideas to sustain our soils for future generations.

Networking

One of my goals throughout the BBM scholarship was to network.

• I met a bunch of different people and loved hearing their ideas and how they impact agriculture;
• I met animal health reps from Virbac;
• I met seed representatives from S&W Seeds, SeedForce;
• I walked around and discussed seeds with Upper Murray Seeds representatives;
• I caught up with lecturers and farmers I have worked with;
• I met fellow agronomists.
• I asked questions, and most importantly – I learnt.

I am always very appreciative of people who give me the time of day to help me learn, to educate and be enthusiastic about agriculture with; like-minded people! I had an absolute ball and have already started using the knowledge I gained from those few hours in my job now.