Agriculture Certificate

Without food we simply would not survive and the growing world population is making increasing demands on the agricultural industry and the people that work within it. Agriculture makes a significant contribution to the economy in the South West of England and provides a wide range of exciting job opportunities.

Level 2 is an intermediate level programme equivalent to GCSE grade 5-9. The programme is aimed at individuals with a keen interest in agriculture and a desire to develop a greater understanding of the knowledge and skills required to be successful in the industry.

You’ll have the opportunity to develop your confidence, agricultural knowledge and practical skills, alongside more general skills required to gain employment or to continue your academic study. Many of these skills will also be transferable to a range of other land based sectors to widen career opportunities.

You will be learning from experienced agriculturalists both inside the classroom and on the college farm, it could be milking our herd of dairy cows, lambing our flock of sheep or ploughing a field before we plant our maize crop. You will spend some of your course time working alongside the farm staff, following the farm activities as you progress through the year, you could be selecting ewes for breeding in September, fencing in October, calving cows in February or shearing a ewe in May.

You will have the opportunity to develop your confidence, knowledge and practical skills, alongside more general skills required to gain employment or to continue in education. As a level 2 course this diploma is all about introducing you to the agricultural industry or developing the skills that you already have to give you the very best opportunity to move onto a more technical agriculture course or enter the industry as an apprentice.

What you will learn

This one year course covers general mixed agriculture including crops, livestock, tractors and machinery. You will be introduced to the fundamentals of plant, soil and animal science and how these influence the growth, yields and quality of our crops and livestock. You will examine how crops such as wheat, barley and grass grow, how to plant them, how to look after them and how to harvest and store them. You will learn about the health, welfare, nutrition and reproduction of farm livestock, the practical skills to ensure that animals are well looked after and produce high quality meat or milk. You will be introduced to the basics of business management and farm profitability.

Knowledge and understanding will be developed alongside practical skills such as how to repair a stock fence, fix a water leak, build a wall, operate a tractor, reverse a trailer, use a loader and attach machinery.