Kyabram P-12 College’s Nestle Agricultural and Sustainability Centre is now home to a $50,000 New Holland Boomer 50, the keys handed over to agriculture trainer and assessor Matt McCready last week.
Mr McCready said the tractor would be used as part of the curriculum tackled by 20 students who were part of the program, including as the key component of a Basic Tractor Driving Skills subject.
“Not many colleges have tractors, that’s for sure. But not many schools have the facility that we have here in Kyabram,” Mr McCready said,
The agriculture trainer and assessor will use the tractor to complete a variety of improvements to the Vocational Education and Training facility, with the added benefit for students being marks and skills that can contribute to gaining their Certificate II in Agriculture.
“We are very fortunate at Kyabram P-12 College, our ag centre is very good and gives students a range of learning opportunities.
“I have been to a number of schools and they having nothing like this,” he said, of the facility, which is in the south-east corner of the school grounds.
Mr McCready said the schools Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) leading teacher, Mitch Coombs, had been instrumental in the expansion of the Nestle-sponsored site.
Mr Coombs was among several involved in the handover of the tractor, along with secondary school principal Louise Mellington and college principal Marina Walsh.
The tractor came from Shepparton Rural Group and was part of an application made by the college last year.
Mitch Coombs remembers the submission well, because “I had to adjust it during the grand final weekend”.
“The purpose of the tractor is to help kids move into the agricultural sector with real world skills,” Mr Coombs said.
“The college used to teach VCE agriculture and horticulture, but it was moving towards being theoretically based. Students needed the ability to complete and be recognised for practical skills.
“With changing to Vet Ag they can do practical skills and go into the workforce with experience.
“In particular there is a unit for safe operation of tractors.”
Rural Group part-owner Nick Pettigrove delivered the tractor, which was particularly fitting as he is a former student of the school — a year behind Mr McCready.
He was amazed at the agricultural space, which he said was “a little under developed’’ when he finished his secondary schooling in 2002.
“It didn’t look like this,” he said.
He said the tractor was used generally for lifestyle farming and his company sold a lot to orchardists.
It came with a four-in-one bucket and slasher.
Mr Pettigrove’s mother taught at Dawes Rd in Kyabram and was principal at Tongala for years, before retiring six years ago.
His father started Rural Group in 1996 and retired in December last year.
Students involved in the agriculture program will have the opportunity to attend a tractor driving course in Wodonga to enable them to use the tractor on site.
Kyabram is strongly represented with its 20 ag students, with only a few hundred across state tackling the subject.
They spend five hours a week on the site, with students from years 10 to 12 involved in the program.
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