Practical guidance for smallholders and those wanting to learn traditional rural skills
Our Agriculture courses equip budding smallholders with hands on experience and the knowledge required to successfully take on farm livestock. Alongside our courses for smallholders, we also offer introductory classes to dry stone walling.
Gain the practical skills and confidence you need
Our short courses will teach you the basics of keeping pigs, goats, cattle, sheep and poultry. You’ll cover legal considerations and develop husbandry techniques, with a strong focus on animal welfare.
Our day courses include a mixture of practical activities on the college farm as well as theory and question and answer sessions where you can get tailored guidance for your particular interests. For all our agriculture courses, you will leave with a certificate of attendance and contacts for future advice and guidance.
No experience or prior knowledge needed
No experience or knowledge is needed for our Agriculture courses but if you do already have your own smallholding and want some advice and guidance, these courses will be perfect for you.
On our Introduction to running your own smallholding course, you’ll get hands on and practical with restraint and husbandry techniques; and you’ll also get to see some of the technology and machinery available for smallholdings.
If you’re after a specific course for lambing, we run introductory courses where you will be taught practical skills to tag, tail dock, and castrate; and receive class-based guidance on planning for the breeding year and best practice for record keeping.
