By Dr Clive Dalton Summary of urgent priorities Priority 1 Give the PrimaryITO total responsibility to oversee all New Zealand primary industry training and education (below University level), and to provide basic information for all entering the primary industries. If there was overseas interest, then they could handle that too. Priority 2 Provide the PrimaryITO with … Read more
Finding my way from Newcastle central station up to the School of Agriculture at King’s College in 1952 for an interview was indeed a worry for a country lad from the North Tyne. I was terrified that they’d say I hadn’t done enough schooling. But having been to Korkley Haall saved the day and four … Read more
Dr Clive Dalton Prof Sir Kenneth Robinson It was watching a TV interview with Sir Kenneth on the Aljazeera news channel that got me going, especially when he related that at his primary school days in a working class area of Manchester, it was traditional for everyone to fail their 11+ exam. Nobody was expected … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Future demand for trained staff The Minister of Primary Industry expects New Zealand agriculture to double export earnings by 2025, which will be in a climate of relentless costs rises, increasing international competition from subsidised farmers, and increasing food safety standards. There were no instructions from the politicians as to how … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton A new approach is URGENT New Zealand’s primary industries should be screaming for a new approach to education, using every possible aspect of the Internet access aided by ultra fast fibre. What we are using today is already old technology. The big problem for our future exports is that we are … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Visual aids to help learning We know that the brain loves pictures and colour as they help retain information. The brain also loves shortcuts. Chalk and blackboard were deemed primitive when the whiteboard came in, but with all the recent electronic technology, nothing has basically changed towards better learning. The biggest … Read more
Clive Dalton Question 1. What’s the biggest national threat facing the New Zealand dairy industry in the next 5-10 years? The low milksolids payout due to a world surplus of milk powder is the wrong answer. The correct answer is farm staff literacy and numeracy, as it’s now recognised that 50% of new recruits … Read more