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What they say about us...

I have subscribed to 11 magazines, of which 9 have something to do with farming. The only one I'm savouring from cover to cover is Practical Farm Ideas. The fact that these ideas are from collegues in a somehow similar situation, that they have been realised under farm workshop conditions and have really proven their usefulness in the daily challenge of practical farming, gives your magazine a value I have never found anywhere before. I think your publication should be a must for any farmer who has more in his toolbox than a hammer, chisel and vice grip!

Richard K.Auler, Republic of Ireland

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Training needs skills as well as education

One the face of it, we should be the most highly skilled nation in the world - but the fact is we fall far short of this. Training across the board has become confused with education, and there's a big difference. Lack of training leads to inefficiency, accidents, and poor productivity. The graduate has an in-depth knowledge of the effects of fertiliser, but going and doing the job accurately is something he or she has missed. Accurate application is the first step to controlling waste and environmental impact.
On the wider front, we have media graduates who have never been taught shorthand and typing - basic skills needed for reporting and writing. Engineers unable to use a lathe or a welder. Economists unable to use a spreadsheet.
Money goes into education rather than skills, training the people who hang around at the top of the hole in the road to measure the environmental impact of the job, and the ethnic mix and other factors of the work force involved, but not able to climb down into the hole and do the repairs required. Training has become the art of using the clip board and not the spanner.