Video Out and about on farms: producer video

TLF ID M019429

This is a video about the Willalooka Pastoral Company in South Australia and its annual cycle of cattle and sheep production. Narrated by owner Thyne McGregor, it shows the scale of the company's operations as he describes how its 10,000 ha size came about and how its five staff are deployed. He emphasises the importance of sustainability and the need to breed and feed livestock in ways that suit the location, rainfall, soil types and weather conditions. He outlines how cattle are brought in three times a year for weaning the calves, joining, and pregnancy testing and explains why Angus cattle are best for Willalooka. The video lasts 4:37 min and in the latter part McGregor points out that his merino sheep have been carefully bred to suit the conditions and describes the cycle of shearing in October, drenching in summer, lamb marking and docking in the middle of winter, followed by weaning.





Educational details

Educational value
  • In spite of its title screen referring to junior primary, this video is in fact an excellent resource for upper primary and secondary studies of agriculture in in the context of the Design and technologies, Geography, and Economics and business curriculums. In Design and technologies the video's coverage of the annual cycle of raising merino sheep and Angus cattle is very useful for content descriptions about how and why food and fibre produced in managed environments in years 5/6 and about sustainability and production in managed environments in years 7/8. The Willalooka Pastoral Company would also be a most worthwhile case study for the years 9/10 content description about investigating and making judgments on the sustainable production of food.
  • The visuals shown in the resource and Thyne McGregor's discussion of rainfall and soil preservation are highly relevant to the 'Biomes and food security' unit of study in year 9 Geography, especially for the content descriptions that refer to the challenges to food production for Australia and the  human alteration of biomes to produce food and fibres.
  • The resource is also of considerable value for the Economic and business curriculum, particularly for the year 10 content description about the ways businesses organise themselves to improve productivity, including how they manage their workforce. Relevant examples in the video include how staff have some delegated responsibility for the areas of the property where they live, and how the merino breeding program has produced a medium-framed, fine-wool sheep capable of flourishing in wet conditions. The Willalooka agribusiness and the size of its operations are also of value for the year 8 content description about the types of businesses and how they respond to opportunities in Australia.
Year level

5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA)
  • Organization: Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA)
  • URL: http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au/
  • Publisher
  • Name: Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA)
  • Organization: Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA)
  • Description: Publisher
  • URL: http://www.primaryindustrieseducation.com.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Unknown
Learning Resource Type
  • Video
Rights
  • © Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia 2015, except where indicated otherwise. Except where indicated otherwise, this material may be used in accordance with the Standard YouTube License at http://www.youtube.com/t/terms.