A number of newly minted dairy farmers will graduate from a unique vocational course today, but it will be a while before they can start work. They're current prisoners at Gippsland's Fulham Correctional Centre, and thanks to some on-farm training during their sentence, once they finish their stretch, they'll have a future waiting for them on the land.
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00:00Prison can be a tough place, but for John, a chance to learn about farm life is helping
00:08to show us off the side.
00:10So who's your favourite?
00:12My favourite is Betsy.
00:15She's a little bit more timid, she's smaller, but she's very friendly.
00:19He's taking part in a Corrections Victoria program, teaching him what it takes to be
00:24a dairy farmer, something he admits he knew very little about.
00:28I used to think that it was just a farmer with some cows, they come up to be milked,
00:33but there is actually quite a lot involved behind the scenes.
00:36Fellow inmate Ned knows all too well what's involved.
00:40He grew up on a farm, but he's now looking at it with fresh eyes.
00:44This has sort of brought me back to home and shown me the new things that are happening
00:48in the dairy industry.
00:49There's more money, more opportunities involved in it these days than there was 10 years ago.
00:54The course is teaching them everything they need to know to establish a sustainable career
00:59once they're released.
01:01Once they're set up in a stable home, stable employment, they also have a fantastic opportunity
01:07to reconnect with their partners, with their families and with their children.
01:11The local dairy industry, which has worked extensively with the men, hopes it will be
01:16a win-win situation and help fill a shortfall of dairy farm workers.
01:22Not only are these men enthusiastic, but the farm manager says in three weeks they've
01:26gained more experience than most of the workers they hire.
01:31These guys are on a routine and a schedule in prison, and it's sort of the same routine
01:35and schedule you work on a dairy farm, so they're perfect.
01:38I think they're the perfect candidate for a dairy farm job.
01:41Rents are a lot and a lot of people are struggling outside.
01:44Half of the blokes in here get out to not a house, not a job, nothing.
01:48I think it would really help a lot if things like this kept going in prisons.
01:52Freedom through farming.