Notes from meeting of Future Directions Group - 19 August, 2015
Present:Mick Davy, Sharyn Cook, Bruce Howard, Murray Johns, Anthony Harris, Kylie Bain, Liv Johnston. Matt
Johnson, John Cordell, Seona Findlay, David Findlay, Paul McShane, Rosie Mackinnon, Chris Richardson, Tony Clarke
Apologies: Andrew Harris Ken Pulton Guy Barnett Robert French
Matt gave the group some background information about himself and his role:
- Has a long association with farming
- Began his work here working week-ends, which then grew into taking on the farm management role
- Farm had a lot of issues when he took over – considerable time and money spent building infrastructure and
programs
- Commissioned a farm consultant to advise on how best to manage the farm – Matt sees pros and cons from
this report – e,g, better pasture management, but some decisions resulting in some stock loss last year
- Have just won a National milk award – in the top 100 dairy farms in Australia
- Reminded us that if the dairy goes, his job may also go – this is a very personal process for him
Introductory remarks - Mick:
- Through this process need to keep in mind some key questions:
o Does what we are doing deliver the best educational outcomes?
o Is it sustainable
o Is there a modified/ another model that might give us better outcomes, both educationally and
financially?
-
Setting the scene
o Across education, resources are being cut
o The farm has not produced a profit for several years, despite significant work to reduce costs and
increase profits
o At present, we are able to manage the losses through EC income
o Now is the time to look for ways to future-proof the farm and EC, while we have the time and
opportunity to make considered decisions
-
Some options/suggestions already explored:
o Potential TAFE training centre – we have been told by CEO TAFE and LSN Operations Manager that
there is no capacity to establish a training centre
o Potential partnerships with University – again not a viable economic reality , although we will
continue to explore opportunities to work together to enhance educational opportunities
o TAS dairy - supporting a robotic dairy here – reality is unlikely in terms of finances and would it
deliver the educational outcomes we need? Meeting with CEO to discuss options
Budget figures presented - Mick and Carol answered questions.
o Vehicles – lease and costs are now split between 4 entities(farm, EC, school, Ag Centre) based on
usage
o Tractor and bike are represented in farm budgets
o No debts associated with land – we own it
o General water costs currently paid by Dept of Ed.
o Water rights bought from farm budget
o Power costs – separate meters – farm pays own costs here
o Poultry program now in EC budget as it is an EC program
o
o
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Do not have the capacity to depreciate assets because we are a government department and so do
not complete tax returns, etc.
If we have big ticket items to purchase – new bike, tractor, etc, need to have the cash, as we cannot
take out loans, etc as a business might
Several questions asked about a number of issues such as more information about lamb sale figures, how
has the water added value, how many cows the dairy should milk for maximum gain - these to be referred
to the Farm Management Group
Suggestions/questions raised to look at ways to move forward:
- Can we use the website to actively promote particular features e.g. dairy?
- Can we modify the way the dairy is used to enable more visitors to see cows being milked – hold some cows
back or milk once a day?
- How might we involved Matt in more EC activities – what impact would this have on his capacity to do other
tasks?
- Are there ways to increase visitor numbers?
o Staff already working close to capacity, but explore hiring additional staff on a relief/casual basis.
o Could we hire a Teacher Assistant as additional staff instead of a teacher?
o Are there schools waiting to come?
o Is it more about maintaining our current numbers rather than growing them?
- Explore charges for day trips and camps
o Want to ensure we remain accessible to state schools
o Have raised prices about 5% for last 3 years, and making more profits through food for camps
o How do we compare to similar experiences offered by other places?
- Can we offer week-end workshops/opportunities?
- What role could Guy Barnett play in supporting us politically?
- Do we look at leasing some of land to a local farmer? What are the implications?
o Would we still be able to access the land?
o How much control would we have over activities – e.g. spraying?
o Insurance/OHS implications?
- What flexibility do we have in wages?
o Matt is a permanent State Service employee and paid under that award
- How can we use technology to enhance educational experiences?
o E.g. video of milking/shearing, etc for visiting groups to access
- Do we develop a business plan for farm/EC with short term and medium term goals in terms of educational
outcomes and farm productivity
How might we communicate information to school community?
- regular communication in newsletter with key points
reminders about meeting times in newsletter – enable people with various expertise to participate or offer
support
- Raise profile of the farm – regular photo/brief report in newsletter and website
- Do we use facebook as a way to share information
- Newspaper article
Next steps:
Farm Management group to meet as soon as possible to discuss issues/suggestions raised at this meeting –
Thursday September 3, 10.00am
Report back at next meeting of Future Directions Group – Wednesday 9 September, 7.00p.m.