Doing a machinery course offers an almost guaranteed path to employment, as the complaint most often heard in the machinery and contracting trades revolves around the shortage of operators and mechanics who can work with modern tractors.

There is growing concern within these sectors over the scarcity of new blood coming forward to fill the positions that require a good working knowledge of the modern tractor and associated machinery.

Training new entrants

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.

Machinery course — Kildalton has served as an agricultural college for 52 years

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.

Workshop machinery course Kildalton — The welding shop is well equipped and was housing several of the projects, including the bench built around a toolbox

The college is of 360ac and sits in the Suir valley at Piltown, Co. kilkenny.

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.

Machinery course choice

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.

Kildalton college mechanisation — The college keeps a couple of old Ford 40 series tractors to help teach the basics. This 8640 has just had its front axle rebuilt

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.

Professional approach

However, the the exercise is a great deal more involved than a sketch on the back of an old envelope and tacking a few bits of scrap together.

Fabrication of machinery Kildalton — Evan Jacobs of Wexford with his Crimper 3000, designed to breakdown cover crops in the field

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.

Tractors fabrication Co Kilkenny — Replacing the right hand step of a John Deere with this lockable tool box was a neat idea by Connor Clinton of Dublin

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.

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.

More than just welding

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.

Piars Murphy — Jonathon Doyle of Wexford created this bale grab using folded sheet rather than box section steel to ensure greater rigidity

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.

Kildalton Crops and machinery course — Heavy metal. None of the projects skimped on the steel as these two graders and welding bench demonstrate

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.

Keeping it modern

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.

Machinery course Kildalton Valtra — The tractor fleet is kept up-to-date with a mix of tractors to ensure students experience a wider variety of machines

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 operate and maintain the latest machinery emerging from the factories.

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