L.PGS.2009 - PGS Leadership Team Member - SV

Summary

The PGS Leadership Group has been appointed to support the roll out of MLA’s Profitable Grazing Systems (PGS) extension platform. The PGS platform is based on following a supported learning model for extension and adoption. Supported learning goes beyond the delivery of technical information and supports producers with building skill and capability to implement beneficial practice change. The PGS Leadership Group involves consultants, advisors, and extension professionals that have experience across conventional and supported learning extension formats.

The PGS Leadership Group is in place to support the transformational change that the shift from traditional extension to supported learning requires. Supported learning involves the delivery of a series of coaching sessions that support skill development following the delivery of the theory or technical information. The coaching sessions provide practice and repetition in key skill development areas and the goal is to objectively increase capability and measure this through skills audits.

Objectives

To grow and expand the delivery network of PGS deliverers across each state and be positive advocates for the value proposition associated with engaging with MLA’s Profitable Grazing Systems (PGS) platform. Encourage the value proposition for engagement from both new PGS deliverers/trainers and producers in supported learning packages (SLP’s) delivered under the PGS platform.
The following demonstrate that this objective has been achieved;
• The delivery network of PGS trainers in South Australia has grown over the life of the project.
• The brand awareness, program knowledge, and engagement in PGS activities has also grown over the last 5 years.

Key findings

The delivery network has grown over the last 5 years, as has the brand awareness and engagement by producers in Supported Learning Packages delivered under the PGS platform.

Benefits to industry

MLA’s PGS platform offers many benefits to industry. It is a transformational approach to extension and adoption. It is transformational because it goes beyond sharing technical information to actually supporting the adoption of beneficial practice change through group based, in-field coaching sessions. The opportunity that this provides to overcome teething issues and create peer to peer learning in a supported environment is massively beneficial to the practice change process.
Involvement by producers with high quality supported learning packages builds producer skills in key profit drivers and beneficial adoption and practice change. Participating in a series of coaching sessions, delivered on-farm, has many benefits. These benefits include:
• Beneficial peer to peer learning between participating producers and businesses
• A capacity to work through adoption teething issues in field with a group of peers and an experienced coach
• The opportunity to see the application of best practice management or cost-effective solutions to common farm management challenges on different properties
• The opportunity to see different production models and business models on different producer properties
• The opportunity to question, challenge, learn, and grow in a supported environment

MLA action

MLA continues to deliver the Profitable Grazing Systems (PGS) program, supporting participants to have the opportunity to develop and practice skills with small groups of like-minded producers to improve business performance.