Electives Catalog, 1. Main Course

ELECTIVES CATALOG

At Kalø Organic Agricultural School you have the opportunity to choose additional subjects to improve your skills. You will be informed about your specific opportunities for elective subjects after enrolling to 1. main course.

Welcome to 1st Main Course

During the time, you will be on 1nd MC, you will encounter many interesting subjects – some are electives, and some are mandatory. The structure of second main course is shown as a flow chart.

In the beginning of your stay, your previous education and your age will determine your possibilities to join the different elective courses. As an example, if you were younger than 25 years when you started basic course and have previously had English and Math at Elevel (uppermost branch), you can attend all the courses, beginning with Fields and Machinery or you can arrive later for one of the other elective courses. Therefore, the week you choose to arrive determines your educational plan. If you were above 25 years when you started basic course, your first option to arrive is for the subject Science in Farming (or Biology, if you haven’t previously had Biology E).

After the electives, the entire class will have arrived, and the mandatory classes begin. This includes the subjects: Agricultural production (plants, livestock), basic economy, crop protection I, organic principles and sustainability I, special production in plants and livestock and niche production.

We hope you will enjoy reading about all electives in this catalogue. If you have any questions, please contact our study supervisor. We are looking forward to seeing you on 1st Main Course.

FIELD & TECHNIQUE

Duration 2 weeks.

Evaluation and grade is given upon completion as passed/not passed.

Learn about agricultural machines, technique, and maintenance and become comfortable with the opportunities machines create for the farmer

An exciting ”hands on” course with focus on the practical approach that is important for success.

Do you have questions? Contact our Study Supervisor

Annette Esbjerg Jensen Tlf.: 20 37 30 05 Mail: aeje@videndjurs.dk

”How does an organic farmer take care of his fields? Which machinery is used and why? We will find out at fields and machinery! We will also do some maintenance on our own machines and tractors, learn all about engines, gearboxes, hydraulics and technique –and we will visit farmers and contractors with cutting edge machinery. Don’t be afraid to get dirty fingers and I’ll see you at Fields and Machinery!”

- Kasper, teacher

EMILIE, 1ST MAIN COURSE 

”In field and technique you get an opportunity to discover alternative ways of farming and personally I got excited about big-scale farming for the first time in my life.

You get to know different machines than the traditional plough and the many harrows and inter row-cultivators, which can seem a bit unappealing, because you feel like you’re fighting nature a lot with all these machines while using a lot of fuel.

You start over every season with ruining your soil structure, relying on the ineffective deep litter and the leaching slurry for fertilization, and you’re leaving the plants very weak to pests and fungi attacks. All of this because you’re not letting the microorganisms do the work. Their role is to create structure and build humus, to fertilize and take care of the plants’ health, because they depend on it too. So when you finish the basic course, you’re a bit disillusioned and you think the only answer then is to create a small scale market garden with no-dig beds and a lot of intensive labor, and there is no problem in doing this either. At all. But we need to have at least 30% of the population to be involved with farming instead of the current 3%.

Until this happens we also need to do something about the way we farm on the bigger scale.. we need to find a smarter way of growing, cause otherwise the little market garden is not going to change that much. And this is what the focus is in the field and technique class. You learn about different machines that can be used in organic no-till systems, about how much a tyre pressure can influence the compaction of the soil, how to service a tractor, and you actually get a basic understanding of how an engine and hydraulic systems work.

For me the field and technique class really created a space to think creatively about farming and to discover what is possible, what is already being done and the consequences of the different practices, and at the same time learning a few valuable mechanic skills and a basic understanding of a subject that can otherwise seem very daunting for an inexperienced.”

BASIC WORKSHOP

Duration 1 weeks. Evaluation and grade is given upon completion as passed/not passed.

This subject is a must for any agricultural Student. It gives the basic skills in the workshop, including maintenance and use of machines, welding, drilling etc.

 We also learn about safety in the workshop and how not to get an injury.

Do you have questions? Contact our Study Supervisor

Annette Esbjerg Jensen

Tlf.: 20 37 30 05

Mail: aeje@videndjurs.dk

”I think it`s important the student can handle the tools right. And know how their functions are. We cut iron and welder it together. Often for use at the farm. We also make innovation things, like a long finger harrow or a weeding table out of ideas. Also mechanic stuff, like repairing an engine. We find the problem, and replace parts in the motor.”

- Lars, teacher

EMILIE, 1ST MAIN COURSE

”In this workshop class, there were a lot of different tasks that needed to get done around the farm.

There were repairs on implements and silos, developing new machines, designing and constructing a bench, tractor repairing, building signs and feeding boxes and much more. You could therefore choose whether you wanted to weld, drill and angle grind in metal, work in wood or both.

For me this course is very important, because you get familiar with different tools and materials, and most importantly you build confidence in building and repairing things on your own. This is especially important if you imagine your future farm being a “low input-low output” kind of farm, where you can’t just rely on professional help and new fancy machinery, but will also depend on upcycling and repairing old materials and machines.

During my internship I built a transportable chicken coop out of recycled materials,

I turned an old garlic sorter into a compost sieve, I turned a washing machine into a greens washer and many other things. This is also what makes farming fun and playful - you have to be a grower, care-taker, plumber, builder, electrician, mechanic and many other professions all at the same time.

To me building and repairing are simply just some of the most satisfying and empowering activities; I always get super proud and excited and the joy of using the things afterwards are so much greater. I do not come from a background of building, I cannot even change a flat tire on my bicycle, but knowing that I can build a silo and repair a potato-laying machine makes the flat tire seem so silly and tangible.

We all have to start somewhere; so I really encourage all, also the ones that don’t identify themselves as workshop kinda people, to get started and/or rock on.”

ROUGHAGE

Duration 2,5 days. Evaluation and grade is given upon completion as passed/not passed.

This subject teaches use knowledge of different types of rouhage, quality and feeding. We look at keep of rouhage and growing season, crop rotation and harvest.

Do you have questions? Contact our Study Supervisor

Annette Esbjerg Jensen Tlf.: 20 37 30 05 Mail: aeje@videndjurs.dk

”Why is grazing so important for organic farming? What is the difference between strip grazing and holistic grazing? How to grow roughage, and which animals can we feed roughage? In the course of Roughage you’ll learn how to manage an organic farm with roughage production. We will visit farmers with grazing animals and roughage production and smell all the wonderful different kinds of roughage feedstuff.”

- Kasper, teacher

EMILIE, 1ST MAIN COURSE

”You will learn about silage and hay, and the pros and cons of these two preservation methods. You will learn about the machines that go into these procedures and how you can ensure a good quality.

You will therefore learn about the importance of timing, to be harvesting at the right time to ensure a good balance between yield and nutrition.

You will also get an understanding of the yearly cycle of different crops - how do they grow back, when do they store the most sugars and proteins and what is a good balance between a long chewing time versus a lot of fast energy.

Since clover grass is known as the engine in organic farming, it is simply just something you need to learn.”

HOOVES

Duration 2,5 days. Evaluation and grade is given upon completion as passed/not passed.

This subject is about hooves and animal welfare. Special focus on how keep your animals with healthy claws which is important for the animal welfare.

Apart from the theory, you will have the opportunity to cut the claws under instruction from our very competent teachers.

Do you have questions?

Contact our Study Supervisor

Annette Esbjerg Jensen

Tlf.: 20 37 30 05

Mail: aeje@videndjurs.dk

”Knowing about hooves and limbs gives you a very good knowledge about animal welfare, stable systems, anatomy etc. Basic knowledge that will come in handy either you want to work with pigs, cows ore small ruminants.”

- Louise, teacher

EMILIE, 1ST MAIN COURSE

”If you’re interested in ever having goats, sheep, cows or pigs, it is very important to know how important hoof health is.

It is one of the biggest problems in livestock production when it comes to both welfare and economics, and it is therefore crucial that we have a general focus on how to prevent these diseases.

You will learn when your animals are especially vulnerable and how to design the animal environment to take this into account. You will also learn about the anatomy of the hoof and you will try out hoof trimming for yourself.

A general knowledge about the importance of hoof health is really the aim of this course. ”

SCIENCE IN FARMING

Duration 5 days. Evaluation and grade is given upon completion as passed/not passed.

This subject teaches important aspects of physics, chemistry and biology and relates it to the context of farming. Hereby, the subject supports the teaching in the subject livestock and plant production later on at 1st main course.

Contact our Study Supervisor

Annette Esbjerg Jensen

Tlf.: 20 37 30 05

Mail: aeje@videndjurs.dk

”What is an ion, how does osmosis work, what is a Joule, and how is a carbohydrate structured? A basic understanding of science will be beneficial when you encounter e.g. feed planning, pests and diseases, plant needs and soil chemistry in the farming courses. During this crash science class your knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology will be refreshed and related to our context of farming. While trying to grasp the concepts, we will do small, cool experiments and demonstrations to support our understanding.”

-Lisbeth, teacher