This year, GippsDairy has partnered with Gardiner Foundation and Jaydee Events to deliver the Cows Create Careers program at Fulham Correctional Centre, operated by The GEO Group Australia, in Gippsland.

The pilot program – delivered as a workforce attraction initiative – ran for five days per week for three weeks during Autumn and focussed on developing skills that would help participants find work in a rural setting after release. The six participants were part of Fulham’s Nalu Community Transition Program – a minimum-security unit that helps with release planning and access to community-based activities.

The Cows Create Careers program covered a wide range of topics, including:

  • The Australian Dairy Industry and why it matters
  • Farm safety and biosecurity
  • Technology on farms
  • Sustainable farming
  • Dairy industry careers
  • Marketing dairy products
  • Dairy nutrition for the dairy cow and humans

All participants completed two industry-recognised courses during the program. Lauren Clyne (Denison Farm Vet) delivered Dairy Australia’s Rearing Healthy Calves and Milking and Mastitis Management (Cups on, Cups off) courses. The second day of both courses were completed on-farm, with participants keen to experience milking cows for the first time. A third excursion was completed to visit a robotic dairy and explore the differences involved when using robotic technology on a dairy farm.

Along with classroom-style learning and farm excursions, two three-week old heifer calves were on site for the duration of the program and cared for solely by the six participants.

The program was delivered by Veronica McLeod (GippsDairy Extension Team Lead), with support from Deanne Kennedy and John Hutchinson (Jaydee Events). Veronica found the experience to be rewarding for everyone involved, with participants showing high levels of engagement and enthusiasm throughout the program. “Everyone was respectful, polite, and engaged,” she said. “They asked good questions and were willing to learn and give it a go.”

Participants were enthusiastic to be involved in a program that would allow them to gain hands-on experience on a local dairy farm prior to their release. Four of the six participants are now actively seeking out work on a dairy farm as part of their release plan in the coming months.

The program will be run again at Fulham with six new participants in July 2024.

The success of this first pilot program would not have been possible without the support and contributions of everyone involved.  Special thanks to the host farmers that welcomed the group on-farm during excursions, those that kindly provided calves for the three-week period, Fulham Correctional Centre, Gardiner Foundation, Jaydee events and Denison Farm Vet.

To learn more about the program, read: Prisoners eager to forge a career in dairy farming as they near release