Thomas Lyons 
The machinery and contracting trades in Ireland are facing a shortage of operators and mechanics who can work with modern tractors. This is a growing concern as there is a scarcity of new blood coming forward to fill the positions that require a good working knowledge of the modern tractor and associated machinery. There are two parts to this worry, the first is that school leavers are tending to avoid occupations that have the undeserved reputation of being a little below expectations, while the second is the lack of training available.
This is not the fault of the agricultural colleges within Ireland which do their level best to sell the career potential of working with farm machinery and equip new entrants with the knowledge and ability to contribute to the industry. Kildalton, which is owned and run by Teagasc, is one such institution which sets out to ensure there is a pool of qualified staff ready to furnish agriculture. Yet, even though it happily reports a growing number of students wanting take up its machinery and crops course, the number it is able to accommodate is witheringly small compared to the demand.
Within Ireland, there are several colleges teaching mechanisation on a farm orientated basis. These courses are not to be confused with a machinery apprenticeship which is focused purely on serving the machinery trade rather than farming in general. The Kildalton course is at level 6 and follows on from the level 5 certificate in agriculture and caters for those who lean towards mechanisation and tillage. Besides the functions of a tractor and advanced maintenance of machinery in general, around 25% of the course is devoted to fabrication with each student required to complete a project in the form of an agricultural tool or implement that will have use on a farm.
The student has first to describe and justify the role and need for the item. It then has to be designed with the use of a CAD programme and the project managed throughout with a view to cost and practicality. The college stresses that the fabrication segment of the course is not just about the perfection of welding ability, there is usually far too great a variation between students before they even arrive on the course for this to be a fair criterion upon which to mark the work. Instead, the lecturers look to how a student may have improved their skills and the way in which they have approached the project with initiative and problem-solving being two key areas in which points are accrued.
In addition to the actual fabrication, students will often need to source components from outside the college; these may include folded steel sections and hydraulic items which need to be designed or specified correctly. The results being shown were impressive, ranging from simple livestock handling equipment to sophisticated implements for bale handling. Machinery and tillage have always gone hand in hand and there is a keen recognition at Kildalton that to keep students up-to-date, use of the latest equipment needs to be experienced.
The college’s fleet of tractors is rotated regularly using a mix of the more popular brands and there is always a top-of-the-range model within it. There is a huge amount of digital technology currently available to farmers so it is only possible for the college to give a taste of what is out there. Yet the capabilities of satellite based navigation systems as the core of digital farming are taught. It is intended that the marriage of data acquisition to more efficient management of crops develops within the course, alongside the on-board electronics which manage the tractor and implement. These new skillsets will complement the traditional aspects of teaching mechanisation and crops, ensuring that the students who pass through the college are well-equipped to take on the challenges of modern agriculture.
Kildalton, which is located in the Suir valley at Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, has served as an agricultural college for 52 years. It is a picturesque area with good soil characteristics that make it ideal for the Teagasc trial work that is undertaken alongside the education of students in horticultural and equine studies, which are taught in addition to agriculture. There is a great deal of activity on the land and fitting it all in to the area available is nigh on impossible, so the college does rely on the goodwill of local farmers in providing extra ground for practical exercises such as ploughing.
This year there were 22 students on the course, up from the normal 16, and the completed projects were recently on display at the college. The projects were impressive, ranging from simple livestock handling equipment to sophisticated implements for bale handling. The college keeps a couple of old Ford 40 series tractors to help teach the basics. The welding shop is well equipped and was housing several of the projects, including the bench built around a toolbox.
The skills developed within this part of the machinery course go beyond welding and basic metalwork; it instills a sense of purpose which can be carried forward into other areas of business management. Jonathon Doyle of Wexford created a bale grab using folded sheet rather than box section steel to ensure greater rigidity. Connor Clinton of Dublin replaced the right-hand step of a John Deere with a lockable toolbox which was a neat idea. Evan Jacobs of Wexford designed the Crimper 3000, which was designed to breakdown cover crops in the field.
The Kildalton course is a professional approach to learning about machinery and mechanisation on a farm orientated basis. The course is not just about the perfection of welding ability, but more about how a student may have improved their skills and the way in which they have approached the project with initiative and problem-solving being two key areas in which points are accrued. The college stresses that the fabrication segment of the course is not just about welding and basic metalwork. The skills developed within this part of the machinery course go beyond welding and basic metalwork. The college keeps its fleet of tractors up-to-date with a mix of tractors to ensure students experience a wider variety of machines.
The Kildalton machinery and crops course is at level 6 and follows on from the level 5 certificate in agriculture. It caters for those who lean towards mechanisation and tillage. Besides the functions of a tractor and advanced maintenance of machinery in general, around 25% of the course is devoted to fabrication with each student required to complete a project in the form of an agricultural tool or implement that will have use on a farm. The college stresses that the fabrication segment of the course is not just about the perfection of welding ability, there is usually far too great a variation between students before they even arrive on the course for this to be a fair criterion upon which to mark the work. Instead, the lecturers look to how a student may have improved their skills and the way in which they have approached the project with initiative and problem-solving being two key areas in which points are accrued.
