Academy

RLTS instructors have been training trainees from the undermentioned list over the last number of decades:

1. Qualified and Registered Veterinarians from South Africa,
2. Qualified and Registered Veterinarians from numerous African countries,
3. Veterinary students from Onderstepoort (Pretoria University),
4. Veterinary Council representatives have in the past been trained by RLTS instructors,
5. Employees from Onderstepoort and Pretoria University,
6. Semen Collectors from both the major registered Bull Stations in South Africa,
7. Most of our competitors performing training services, consulting services and technical field services,
8. Active field staff and semen salesman from many of the independent companies operating in Southern Africa,
9. Unisa Animal Reproduction students have been and are busy being trained by us as a pre-requisite for their diplomas.
10. University of Tswane and Glen College as well as other agriculture tertiary institutes have sent their students and lecturers for training with us, we still complete an annual training program for Glen College,
11. Various Government department send their employees for training, such as the department of Agriculture and Correctional Services,
12. The Registrar’s Office of Animal Improvement in South Africa and Namibia has referred and nominated our instructors to provide training within the Southern African region over a number of decades,
13. Non-Governmental Organizations have selected us to provide training for development projects in South Africa such as REIN Africa and SPEAR,
14. Corporately funded projects within Southern Africa regularly make use of our training and consulting services,

Farming is a complex, high risk venture that requires large amounts of capital and comprises of a multitude of practical and management skills. There is no better way to learn than to work on successful operational farming enterprises while been monitored by skilled instructors.

Attending the Training Academy will empower the trainee to:

• start and successfully run a farming enterprise,
• apply the latest advances in farming methodology improving reproduction and production,
• increase and improve skill repertoire,
• evaluate existing farming practices, identify problem areas and introduce corrective measures,
• fast track, gaining knowledge and “know-how” that would otherwise take years to develop through trial and error,
• obtain certification that offers a greater scope for employment, therefore developing skills to generate greater income,
• obtain skills and certification that enables trainees to run their own business as a field technician,
• improve their chances for employment overseas or outside South Africa,
• obtain varied skills, as livestock farming requires an array of skills which include financial planning, operational planning, prioritizing, procurement, market research, budgeting, cash flow, short and long-term projections, technical know-how and many more aspects

After completion of the required modules, trainees will have gained valuable experience in practical farming, operating a farming business, working and managing an ongoing concern as well as all the theoretical knowledge and practical know-how.

Once trainees have completed the full set of modules at our Training Academy, RLTS will assist by placing students at farmers and or various institutes offering a source of employment.

We have a sound working relationship with many well recognized farmers and other entities offering services within the Agricultural sector.

Trainees will have option to select any number of modules to attend. The modules run concurrently and a discount is offered for multiple selections.

Sub-modules content detail per category are listed in more details as per the attachment containing the module details.

The 6 Modules containing the sub-modules detail is listed below, the content of the sub-modules is contained in the support documents to this introduction, namely RLTS Livestock Academy Modules:

1. Cattle Training Module – 41 days, covering 17 modules.

• C1 – Artificial Insemination.
• C2 – Pregnancy Awareness.
• C3 – Calf Rearing.
• C4 – Stockman’s & Animal Husbandry.
• C5 – Nutrition.
• C6 – Registered Artificial Insemination.
• C7 – Semen Collection.
• C8 – Registered Semen Collection.
• C9 – Embryo Transfer.
• C10 – Milking Routine
• C11 – Milk Production Systems.
• C12 – Functional Selection Dairy Cattle.
• C13 – Record Keeping & Dairy Management.
• C14 – Dairy Maintenance.
• C15 – Beef Production Systems.
• C16 – Functional Selection Beef Cattle.
• C17 – Abattoir.

2.Pasture, Grazing, Agronomy & Feed Production – 13 days, covering 9 modules.

• Daily lectures in the morning.
• Practical Session in the afternoon.
• A1 – Precision Farming
  • • Geographic Information Systems / Farm Mapping / Geo-Reference Imagery / Computer Applications / Basic Spread Sheet Management
• A2 – Soil Management
  • • Soil Composition / Soil Classification / Soil Horizons / Soil Fertility / Soil Erosion and Compaction / Soil Sampling / Soil Interpretation
• A3 – Plant Biology
  • • Plant Morphology / Plant Anatomy / Plant Biology / Plant Taxonomy / Plant Classification / Plant Identification / Sampling and Analysis
• A4 – Plant Nutrients
  • • Macro-nutrients / Micro-nutrients / Plant Nutrients / Micro-organisms / Organic Farming
• A5 – Water Management
  • • Meteorology / Water Resources / Irrigation / Scheduling / Dams & Reservoirs
• A6 – Crop  Management
  • • Weed Management / Insect control / Disease Management / Microbes / Herbicides / Insecticides / Bio-Stimulants
• A7 – Applied Agronomy
  • • Conventional Tilling / No-till Farming / Seedbed Preparation / Planting & Sowing / Seed Treatments / Fertilizer Application / Implements Practical  and Maintenance
• A8 – Feed Basics
  • • Feed Requirements / Calculating Dry Matter / Energy, Protein and Fibre / Feed intake calculator / Feed Sampling / Concentrates / Silage Management
• A9 – Pasture Management
  • • Pasture Growth Cycles / Predicting Yields / Stocking Rates & Utilization / Budget / Spreadsheet Management / Plate Meter Basics / Pasture Measurements

3.Sheep & Goats Training Module – 13 days, covering 9 modules.

• S1 – Artificial Insemination.
• S2 – Pregnancy Awareness.
• S3 – Rearing Lambs.
• S4 – Stockman’s & Animal Husbandry.
• S5 – Nutrition.
• S6 – Registered Artificial Insemination.
• S7 – Sheep & Goat Production Systems.
• S8 – Functional Selection Sheep & Goats.
• S9 – Abattoir.

4. Pigs Training Modules – 13 days, covering 10 modules.

• P1 – Artificial Insemination.
• P2 – Pregnancy Awareness.
• P3 – Rearing Piglets.
• P4 – Stockman’s & Animal Husbandry.
• P5 – Nutrition.
• P6 – Registered Artificial Insemination.
• P7 – Semen Collection.
• P8 – Registered Semen Collection.
• P9 – Pig Production Systems.
• P10 – Functional Selection Pigs.

5. Poultry Training Modules – 6 days, covering 6 modules.

• PO1 – Poultry Breeding.
• PO2 – Incubation & Hatchlings.
• PO3 – Stockman’s & Animal Husbandry.
• PO4 – Nutrition.
• PO5 – Functional Selection Poultry.
• PO6 – Poultry Production Systems.

6. Wildlife Management & Animal Health Modules – 13 days, covering a number of modules.

• Topics covered in this course are as follows:
  • Introduction to wildlife management (JO).
  • Legislation pertaining to wildlife (JO).
  • Wildlife diseases and surveillance of important diseases (JO).
  • Identification methods of wildlife (Guest).
  • Game capture techniques – Chemical, Mass, and Passive capture (MK).
  • Care and management of captured wildlife (MK).
  • Overview of management of intensive rare game breeding projects (MK).
  • Boma management and nutritional needs of captive wildlife (Milandie Kruger).
  • Transportation and relocation of wildlife (MK).
  • Wildlife reproduction management (Guest).

1. Transport to and from George main airport and bus terminal to the main training facility for training in George. Trainees attending the Wildlife Academy training can negotiate collection points depending on transport means.
2. Full tuition covering each of modules that the trainee is attending,
3. All consumable materials used during training,
4. Trainees will very often make their own equipment which they will take with them after completion, especially where Sheep & Goat Insemination is concerned.
5. Practical training for each of the modules the trainee is attending,
6. Comprehensive notes covering each of the sub-modules that the trainee is attending,
7. Working experience on Dairy farms, Beef farms, Pig farms, Sheep and Poultry farm, Abattoir’s and Feedlots, and game farms depending on which modules the trainee will be attending,
8. Management skills,
9. Basic financial understanding to run various farming enterprises,
10. Depending on the option selected, full accommodation is provided for all options 2 and 3 selections. Sharing is not the normal procedure however depending allocation it may happen. Sharing will be only allocated to same sex and age group demographics. Group bookings are only offered on room sharing basis,
11. Self-Catering option does not offer meals, however trainees will have the opportunity to travel to town to purchase food supplies,
12. Laundry is done once a week,
13. Daily refreshments,
14. Networking with suppliers and buyers,
15. Based on competency, certified certification on registered training with cattle,
16. Based on competency, registration with the registrar in accordance with the Animal Improvement Act for certain modules,
17. Assistance with placement for employment,
18. Wi-Fi at accommodation is subject to availability with service provider.

Who can attend?

Any person may attend provided he or she can understand either English or Afrikaans.

Booking

• Bookings will be limited and operate on a first come first serve basis. Trainees can submit online bookings by completion of an application form to attend the training or alternatively contact RLTS to receive an application form via email or fax.
• Advance payment will secure your booking.

Notes concerning fee structure and costing

Cost Inclusive

The costing for module attendance including accommodation and 3 meals per day.

Cost Exclusive

The costing for module attendance excluding accommodation and 3 meals per day.
Trainees staying in the region would prefer to stay at home or alternatively trainees would like the option of seeing to their own meals and accommodation.

Payment from outside South Africa

Please kindly note payments received from outside South Africa will incur additional bank charges, these charges will be communicated and confirmed once an application has been received. The additional charges may vary from 2% to 9.75% of course fee charged

Discount for multiple module attendance

The trainee can choose which module he or she would like to attend with attendance of the second module onward, offering a discounted charging rate. The greatest discount is offered to trainees who wish to attend all 6 modules.

Based on competency;

1. Artificial Insemination Certificate – Cattle / Pigs / Sheep – issued by registered instructors conforming to the Livestock Improvement Act 1998.
2. Registered Inseminator – Cattle / Pigs / Sheep – issued by registered instructors conforming to the Animal Improvement Act 1998.
3. Calf Rearing / Stockman’s (Animal Husbandry) / Nutrition – Certificate issued by RLTS.
4. Semen Collector Cattle, Semen collection for Pigs– issued by registered instructors conforming to the Animal Improvement Act 1998.
5. All other training modules will include competency certificates.