On March the 14th, in accordance with the training program established for students studying the second course of agricultural production, and after studying the subject "Beef Production", the students visited Mas Barbats in Casserres (El Berguedà). Mas Barbats is an agricultural and livestock farm in which the beef cattle herd has a central place. Mr. Ramon Pellicer, who is in charge of the farm, he responded the questions asked by the students, and he showed them the livestock, facilities and machinery of the farm. Some of the highlights of the visit are: The controls and morphological and behaviour features of the “Bruna dels Pirineus” breed, the organization and reproduction’s control, the grouping and supervision of births, the health management and control, the feeding planning of the herd that includes transhumance to different areas of Alt Berguedà, Solsonès and Pallars Sobirà. In addition to breeding calves, Mas Barbats also does other activities, such as raising calves, raising pigs, breeding chickens, producing cereals and fodder mostly destined for own consumption and also activities of agrotourism. Another important fact is that Mas Barbats markets its production through the Cooperativa Ramaders de Muntanya del Berguedà. The school, we thank Mas Barbats and Mr. Ramon Pellicer for their kindness and time which has allowed having the experience of this interesting visit.
+ info: http://www.barbats.com/
Friday, March the 24th, the second-year students of gardening took a day of practical Lawn’s regeneration. At the School`s gardens, they prepared, mowed, verticutted and scarifyed dethatched, removed the thatch, turf aerated (with tubular tines), removed the cylindrical soil plugs, overseeded, topdressed (the covering of the seed with resowing soil), rolled, and finally watered lightly. In addition to various craftworks, students used different machinery specialized for each task: mower, verticutter, dethatcher, turf aerator, trailer dealer of the dressing material, and roller. It turned out that the next day it snowed and then it rained and the temperatures dropped. We hope that in the next days, the expected temperature recovery and the land ripe contributes to the germination and Lawn’s emerge. Living a practical experience is something irreplaceable, something that improves the learning process and provides new perspectives on the theory taught in the classroom.
+ info: http://www.vtequips.com/blog/
On the 9th of March, the 2nd year students of gardening visited the Golf Montanyà, in Seva. Mr. Josep Tió the green keeper, made a general presentation of the field, and then on the ground, showed and explained the different areas of the field, the types and varieties of lawn, the maintenance works, the system of irrigation, and the machinery used and their characteristics. The visit was very interesting and allowed students to see the size and degree of specialization of the different works carried out on a golf course. The beauty of the surroundings of the field, which is the Montseny Natural Park, was an added attraction to visit. We the school thank the Golf Montanyà which cooperation has allowed the realization of the visit.
On the 28th February the students of the Superior Degree in Livestock and Assistance in Animal Health visited the farm Mas Serí, which is a farrow-to-finish pig farm. The person responsible for the care of the animals, Juan Moreno, explained that the careful food, health and reproductive handling, along with good environmental conditions provide proper physical body condition and animal welfare: The results are excellent reproductive and productive performances. Judit Roca, the person in charge of the farm, explained to the students how the farm is organized and the premises for each production phase, paying especial attention to the ventilation’s systems. Judit Roca is also the manager of AEROSYSTEM ROTI which is a company in ventilation and engineering of pig farms. Students could see different products and services that the company offers in order to reach an optimal control of the farm’s climate, such as: The “Rotisuit”, one system of efficient weaning, that does not need heating to create a conformable environment, el “piglets’saver Rotivent”, ventilations systems that operate by overpressure, cooling’s systems, and the modular construction Roti. With the guidance of the teacher of the subject "Organization and control of reproduction and breeding", the students took the opportunity of the visit and they also did gestation diagnostic practices to the sows with an ultrasound scanner. We, the School, thank the Mas Serí, for giving us the opportunity to make this interesting visit.
+ info: http://www.aerosystemroti.com
On the 28th February the students of the Superior Degree in Livestock and Assistance in Animal Health visited ERRA, in Vic, which is a firm dedicated to the manufacturing and assembling for livestock equipment especially for farms of pigs and cows. Jordi Erra, the person in charge of the company, showed the facilities and machinery for the manufacture and assembly of the various livestock facilities subsequently installed on farms. ERRA uses multiple building materials with different properties suitable for every need. In ERRA they innovate and create prototypes to improve their products, in order that the products are efficient in its function and durability. We, the School, thank ERRA, for giving us the opportunity to make this interesting visit.
+ info: http://www.erra.es/
On January the 20th, the second-year students of High Level of Livestock and Animal Health visited the farm MAS COLLFRED in Vidrà, which is a beef cow farm company that produces limousine cattle type, and processes and sells their production. Mr Esteve Anglada and Mr. Ricard Anglada explained the evolution and how the farm operates nowadays. The beef cows, the stock breeding calves, the selected female calves for rearing, sold as future breeding cows, the artisan production of fresh meat, sausages and cooked meal, which they sell in their stores, restaurants, and on the internet directly to individual people. Collfred is an example of a family company which produces quality food, and sells directly from the producer to the consumer We, the School, thank the Anglada family for giving us the opportunity to make this interesting visit.
+ info: http://www.collfred.cat
