Cranebrook

High School

2010

Hi, my name is

Dolce.

Hi, my name is

Louis.

Hi, I am Amber .I am a Yr 9

Agriculture student at Cranebrook High

School. Welcome to our

farm!

Mrs Saxon and Mr Murray are my

agriculture teachers.

They are two in a million.

They make school and learning so

much fun. They encourage,

inspire and motivate us and

we now share their passion and dedication to the school farm and

our animals.They deserve a

huge thanks!

HiI’m Mrs Saxon.

HiI’m Mr

Murray.

I’m Dolce and these are the best teachers

ever!!

Our school has many animals, including a steer, named Moss.We also have sheep, chickens,

ducks and alpacas.

I’m Party.

I’m Package.

We have hens and pullets on our farm. Each year the school buys a new clutch of chicks for year 9 students to study during the year. We study the growth of the chicks, weigh them and

observe them. Wow they grow fast. They now have fully grown feathers and

all lay eggs .The abundance of eggs they lay

means a special treat for the students who can take the eggs

home. I often take home a carton of eggs each week. Our chickens

are free range, get lots of green grass and are very healthy. I think they taste a lot better

than commercially grown eggs.

I love studying agriculture, it’s so much fun and learning about topics like sustainability, alpacas and sheep, is great!

Of course I adore the animals! We learn to care for them and understand the responsibility we have to ensure they are happy and healthy. Each animal has their own personality and needs, just like humans.

We are offered so many fantastic opportunities in agriculture! A highlight is taking part in the Penrith Show, where everyone can help out and understand the

preparation and techniques required to show animals at a high level .

This year Cranebrook showed their sheep, steer and alpacas at the show.

I love showing the animals. It’s great experience for taking our Alpaca team to the Sydney Royal Easter Show!

We also create fantastic, “out-of-the-box” displays, called ‘District Exhibits’.

In 2010 Cranebrook created a display for the Penrith Show, using two life-size fibreglass steers.

We painted them and dressed them up to look like a couple at a cafe. One of our steers wore black pants, glasses and a bow tie. The other wore a beautiful, pink skirt, frills and bow on head.

At the show the steers ate a huge chicken-burger and slurped a strawberry milkshake, which we also created for the display.

We were very excited when our display received third place.

At the show our alpacas and sheep also received third prize.

This year we visited Hurlstone Agricultural College and Leppington Pastoral Company.

Here we learnt hands on about the production of food and how to manage a farm.

We watched cows being milked, bulls being weighed, sheepbeing drenched and animals being fed.

A day full of fun!!!!

I’m a Jersey dairy cow

and it’s milking time!

We have had many people visit our school in the past, and this year we were lucky to have industry experts come to visit.

Wendy Taylor and Lynne Strong came to talk to us about the Archibull journey.

Lynne told us about her farm and their journey to be sustainable.

Wendy is an architect she opened our eyes to the endless ways we can share our love of agriculture with the wider community through art and design.

Wendy Lynne

Cranebrook High School has recently become an alpaca stud farm. We were very proud of this achievement and these animals

have become a major part of the school

agricultural program.

I produced Cranebrook’s

first ever stud alpaca!

We visit the Easter Show annually to get a feel of what it is like to own, prepare and show a good quality animal.

Now that Cranebrook High is officially an alpaca stud, we are hoping to participate in the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2011.

I’m Cranebrook’s

first ever stud alpaca

to be born at school!

I’m his mum!

When we talk about an alpaca stud farm, we are talking about the fact that all our alpacas are bred for quality and are purebred with complete pedigrees

A pedigree is having documented proof of the generation to generation ancestral blood line of the animal, as proof of being a pure-bred.

Warralinga Celtic Lad

(Lives at Warralinga Alpaca

Stud)

Chachani IntisAmber Dawn

(Dolce)

(Lives at Cranebrook High) Crane Brook

Louis

Mum Dad

Stud Cria

“image-Warralinga Stud Alpacas”

Dolce’s Mum

Dolce’sDad

Our alpacas are very well tempered, beautiful creatures.

Not only that their wool is amazing quality and they are very intriguing animals to watch.

Their behaviour is different to that of other animals, they stay together and act like a family.

Alpacas produce wool in many different colours so bleaching is rarely necessary. It has no lanolin so no cleaning is required and their hooves are padded.

Why not? Look how cute and

cuddly I am

During class I have learnt about the wool quality of alpacas and I was very privileged to talk to Warralinga Alpaca Stud Farm

owners, Lyn and Graeme.

The crimp, density, staple length, lustre, micron, contamination and handle of the wool were the main focus in our class.

Aragon AlpacasPeaceful Pasture Alpacas

There are two kinds of alpacas.

Huacaya alpacas have short, sheep like wool. Their fleece grows in bundles of staples, has crimp and grows out from the body so the animal has a well rounded full look when in full fleece. Cranebrook High owns Huacaya’s.

Suri alpacas have long, dread-lock like wool. Their fleece grows in pencil-lock staples, has no crimp and falls straight down from the body, giving the animal a more slender appearance when in full fleece than a Huacaya.

(Wuh-kai-ya)(Soo-ri)

During National Alpaca Week (1st-9th May 2010) our teachers encouraged us to visit alpaca stud farms. I visited a few,

including Warralinga, Codan and Gunnamatta, and it was a great experience. I listened to talks and got to see the

day-to-day running of quality alpaca studs. The quality of the alpacas was of a high standard and our school has set a

standard to breed quality stud animals.

The quality of Alpacawool is what

determines it’s price,enhances it’s chancesof winning at showsand improves overall

appearance.

The following information tells you

just a little about what the students

learnt about my wool.Please note that it is

cria (baby) fleece though, and hasn't reached its peak.

• Crimp: is the natural wave formation of the wool. The more waves in a fibre, the easier the wool holds together when being spun,

therefore better quality.

Crimp

• Lustre: the shine of the wool. The more lustrous the wool the better the appearance,

the better the quality.

Look at my wool shine!!

Isn’t it gorgeous?

• Density: the quantity of wool fibres. The higher the density on an alpaca determines

the amount the wool on the body. Obviously the more wool the better.

I only have cria fleece, but just

you wait until I’m a big boy... I’ll be

dense and handsome!!

• Micron: the diameter of wool fibres. The finer the wool, the softer it feels and the more products it can be used for. Good fleece is

between 16-25 microns.

Can you see the wool fibres?

There are several of them and look

how thin they are!!

Does the black line

help?

• Staple Length: the length in which the wool fibres grow between shearing. The longer the

wool fibres the easier it can be spun, therefore the better the quality.

Wool should grow approximately 10mm a month and should be 120mm after one

year.

• Handle: The softness and feel of the wool. If the wool feels softer it is more likely to be less

contaminated with dirt, contain less grease and have more use. The softer the wool the

better.

Sorry you can’t feel his wool, but I’ll tell you that’s it’s so soft and just like silk!!

• Contamination: the foreign materials in the wool. If the wool is contaminated the quality is

reduced. It takes time and money to remove it and the wool is less valuable.

So the lower the contamination the more money our wool can bring.

Any material that is not wool is said to be

a contaminant and must be removed before the wool is

spun.

I love you mummy!

When showing an alpaca it’s wool should not brushed or washed as the wool fibres can be damaged.

Nails should be clipped so they do not curl over the hoof.

The confirmation of an alpaca is important.

The length of it’s neck should be two-thirds of it’s back, while the same length as it’s legs.

The correct confirmation will

ensure correct posture, joint

movement and breeding.

In agriculture I learnt how to halter, walk,

judge and work with alpacas.

I have also been lucky to

show the alpacas at

the Penrith Show and

see the alpacas being

shorn.

I can halter

an alpaca!

Caring for our alpacas is very important. We look after them by feeding them and providing them with water and shelter.

We also drench them to prevent internal parasites, vaccinate them for diseases, clip their nails and shear their fleece.

I enjoyed the experience of drenching the alpacas. It was a difficult task but I learnt how to safely handle them.

Shearing was exciting too. It is done completely different than sheep and other wool animals. I was asked to hold the alpacas head during shearing and talk to them and comfort them. It was lots of fun.

We learnt that husbandry practices are important to keep animals safe and healthy, not just alpacas but our steer, chickens, ducks and sheep as well.

Currently Cranebrook owns six alpacas, two of which are pregnant, two of which are male cria’s (baby alpacas) and a female

cria. Our alpacas are are all named after designer

brands.

Gianni Dolce Zannetti Calvin (male) Louis (male)

Yves (female cria)

This is Yves, our newest arrivalBorn on the

12th

December 2010

Look I am only an hour old and I

can run!!Where is my

mummy?

You look nice.

Are you my mum?

This is my mum.

This is my mum.

She looks just like me don't

you think?

You’ve got your dad in you too!

Look at that white neck!!

While learning about the animals and plants on our farm, we also learnt about the environmental impacts they have on agriculture.

I learnt about erosion, water availability, pests, soil compaction, weeds, disease and infection, pollution and much more.

We learnt what each impact was, how it occurred, how it could be prevented and how to ensure the environment was sustainable.

Image- Landlearn NSW - Flickr

Unfortunately our much loved alpaca, Prada, died recently, from a neurological bacteria infection. Although this was

a heartbreaking event for the school the experiences learnt from her death are

important .

Students now appreciate the role of a vet (which I wish to

become) and learnt the steps needed to take care of

a sick or injured animal.

No worries!At Cranebrook Agriculture Farm we

don’t do just animals.We own a greenhouse, where we grow

bonsais, native plants and vegetables.

Near our chicken shed we have anorchard with lemon trees. We also

have a huge garden area, wherestudents can plant any fruit,

vegetable or flower they wish.This allows students to grow their

own plants, learn about agricultureand take home the finished product.

It is always heaps of fun!

During the year I was able to participate in fundraising activities. These activities enabled the school to raise money to maintain our school

farm. Our main school fundraiser for agriculture is the Farm Services day, where

students and teachers went to Farm Services and cooked a BBQ for breakfast and lunch.

The team at Farm Services gave an informative talk on fencing. We learnt how to set up electric fences safely.

http://www.farmservices.com.au/

The ag team at Cranebrook have held many BBQ’s and events at school to help support agriculture.

These events are always great fun and help me realise the importance of teacher and community support for our farm.

Agriculture is an elective in year 9 and the first subject I chose.

Some people think I am wasting my time studying

agriculture.

To them I say “ By studying agriculture I am playing an active role in creating a better future for Australians.”

I believe all young Australians like me should be provided with the education and opportunities to build their knowledge on the production of the food they consume, clothing they wear and products they use.

I know that issues such as climate change, population, land use and water availability are all on the rise and are becoming increasingly important to Australians.

Only by teaching students the skills and knowledge of production, marketing and consumption can they be equipped, motivated and ready to make decisions about the challenges facing modern Agriculture.

Not only is it one of the most important subjects to study it’s so much fun, the animals are great and our teachers are supportive, motivating and inspiring.

Learning about me shows how

fibre is produced and how I impact environments

I wish to become a vet when I leave school.Studying Agriculture has given me great

insights into working with animals and

motivated me to work hard to achieve my

goal.

We think Amber will be the best

vet ever

Working with alpacas is amazing. They are so

intriguing.

Cranebrook loves their animals.

The students are taught

about animals and plants,

which is great!

Everything is hands

on.

Our incredible teachers are encouraging,

motivating and passionate.

We learnt things that are fun,

interesting and will help us in

the future.

Hey mummy, look!!

They’re taking pictures of me.. Does my nose

look big?

Just one more photo mummy

I hope you love alpacas

like Cranebrook loves us!!

Goodbye...I hope you agree with us now, that agriculture isn’t

just fun but a rewarding and worthy subject

for the future of students too!!!

Studying Agriculture?

Time well spent,

wouldn’t you say!!

Thanks for watching. Hope you

enjoyed our farm!!

Bye.

GOLD SILVERPLATINUM

BRONZE

WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE

2010 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION