Agriculture (Level 4)

You’ll develop skills in coordinating daily farm activities, communicating effectively, using technology, and taking responsibility for vehicle and machinery maintenance. You’ll also learn how to benchmark and report on farm performance, and how to implement and monitor health, breeding, feeding, and environmental plans.

This programme is ideal if you’re an experienced farm worker looking to step into, or already working in, a management-level role. When you enrol, you can choose a strand that suits your experience and goals, including dairy farming, breeding livestock farming, or non-breeding livestock farming.

TIME COMMITMENT

This programme will see you completing most of your learning in your practical farm environment. You will receive regular visits from your tutor to support your learning, provide skills training, and check your progress.

You will also take part in group learning one day each week, facilitated by your tutor, where you will work through theory learning and assessments alongside other learners in your region.

Compulsory across all Strands

Dairy Farming Strand

Breeding Livestock Farming Strand

Non-Breeding Livestock Farming Strand

Outcome Statement and Pathways

Graduates of the qualification will be able:

• Coordinate agribusiness activities using appropriate technology and a range of effective communication and interpersonal skills

• Benchmark a farms physical performance against data from industry high performers to ID strategies for improving farm physical and financial performance

• Produce routine management reports to inform decision making for a farm production system

• Take responsibility for routine maintenance of vehicles, plant, machinery and equipment

• Implement and monitor a farm environmental plan

Graduates of the Dairy Farming strand will also be able to:

• Implement and monitor milk harvesting and milk quality plans

• Implement and monitor a dairy livestock health plan

• Implement and monitor a dairy livestock breeding plan

• Implement and monitor a dairy livestock feeding plan

Graduates of the Livestock Farming strand will also be able to:

• Implement and monitor a breeding livestock health plan

• Implement and monitor a livestock breeding plan

• Implement and monitor a breeding livestock feeding plan

• Implement and monitor a breeding livestock production plan

Graduates of the Non-Breeding strand will also be able to:

• Implement and monitor a non-breeding livestock health plan

• Implement a non-breeding livestock feeding plan

• Implement and monitor a non-breeding livestock production plan

Education Pathways:

On completion of this programme, students may progress on to the New Zealand Certificate in Production Management (Level 5) and Diploma in Agribusiness Management (Level 5).

Employment Pathways:

Graduates of this qualification may be employed in roles within the pastoral sectors where they take responsibility for the day to day operational management of a pastoral farming production system.

Duration of Study

44 weeks part time

Entry Criteria

Applicants must have access to a dry-stock or dairy farm for at least 24 hours per week to complete the course’s practical requirements.

Academic Achievement

Applicants should demonstrate an ability to succeed in tertiary study, shown by the completion of any of the following qualifications or courses of study:

• National Certificate/New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture Level 3 OR

• Minimum 3 years prior experience 

English Second Language Students

Applicants whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools or other teaching institutions is not English, require an ELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 5.5 or above (or equivalent) for enrolment.

Life Skills/Work Experience

Applicants who do not meet the academic entry criteria above may be admitted to the programme/course of study if they are able to demonstrate:

• Equivalent farming knowledge and skills (minimum three years in the

• industry); and/or

• Previous and relevant life skills or work experience; and/or

• Other formal or information study such as to suggest likelihood of successful course completion e.g. career changer.

• Dairy strand fees - $492

• Breeding livestock strand fees - $481

• Non-breeding livestock strand fees - $489