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Dairy Farm Supervisors

The occupational qualification the Dairy farmer, covers three levels:  dairy farmworker, dairy supervisor and dairy herd manager. The part qualifications Dairy farm worker and Dairy supervisor require the completion of all the knowledge, practical and workplace experience components of each level. To occupational qualification the Dairy Farmer requires the completion of the knowledge, practical and workplace experience components of both the dairy supervisor and dairy herd manager modules.

The dairy supervisor modules cover the following dairy disciplines:

MODULE 1:  SOUTH AFRICAN DAIRY FARMING ENVIRONMENT

  1. Introduction to the South African dairy industry
  2. Dairy breeds
  3. Basic dairy farming business concepts

MODULE 2: DAIRY CALF AND HEIFER REARING, FEEDING AND HEALTH CARE

  1. Introduction to dairy calf and heifer health care
  2. Calf rearing systems
  3. Hygiene and care
  4. Calf feeding concepts
  5. Awareness of dairy calf diseases
  6. Calf and heifer care and production concepts

MODULE 3: DAIRY ANIMAL HEALTH CARE

  1. Diagrammatic illustrations and basic functions of the anatomical system
  2. General dairy livestock health
  3. Awareness of causes of disease in dairy animals
  4. Health assessment
  5. Parasites and basic lifecycles
  6. Farm bio-security and risk prevention (including zoonotic diseases)

MODULE 4:  DAIRY ANIMAL PRODUCTION

  1. Animals herding and handling practices
  2. Dairy animal breeding concepts
  3. Water supply systems on dairy farms
  4. Fencing on a dairy farm

MODULE 5:  DAIRY LIVESTOCK FEEDING

  1. Dairy feed types and feeding practices
  2. Feeding of heifers
  3. Feeding of cows in milk
  4. Feeding of dry cows
  5. Feeding facilities and equipment

MODULE 6: MILK HARVESTING AND IN-PARLOUR PROCESSING

  1. Milk harvesting facilities
  2. Udder health
  3. The milk harvesting process
  4. Dairy parlour equipment and systems
  5. Dairy parlour hygiene
  6. Essential production records
  7. Composition of milk and quality indicators
  8. In-parlour processing and quality control concepts

MODULE 7:  TEAM LEADERSHIP

  1. Introductory supervision concepts
  2. Performance standards concepts
  3. Motivation and team leadership concepts
  4. Interpersonal relations
  5. First line discipline
  6. Work efficiency and effectiveness