Having been involved with the hugely successful LEAF initiative, Face Time a Farmer, the Norbreck Farm dairy team decided to go one step further by going in to a local school to let the children get hands on with a couple of dairy bred calves from the farm.
Nick Haigh, Norbreck’s herdsman, along with his daughter Izzy who enjoys part time milking on the farm assisted proceedings on the day at Christ Church Primary School, Carnforth, Lanacashire, where Nick’s wife Marie is a teaching assistant.
A month-old Holstein heifer calf and British Blue cross calf went on a road trip with Nick and Izzy to explain how the farm works and the vital role milk consumption can make to a healthy diet and the incredible rehydration properties along with vitamins and minerals that this natural drink contains.
Children across the UK have benefitting from this simple FaceTime set up, not only allowing them to see beyond the farm gate, but also gain an understanding of where their food comes from. Farmers from all agricultural specialisms are participating, such as dairy, sheep, beef, pig, poultry and eggs, arable and other areas such as cut flowers and herbs and fish farming. This diverse mix is resulting in excellent conversations within the classroom between farmers and children, all effectively promoting active learning.
Classes of children at both primary and secondary level have signed up to participate with schools requesting a matched farmer for every class. Children are so used to working with technology so the Face Time initiative has proved to be a great way to connect children with the outside world.
We decided at Norbreck to take that positivity one step further by allowing the children to further develop that learning with hands on experience to ask further questions and interact more with a farmer and live calves rather than through a screen.
Who knows some of these children will become farmers of the future? In a declining industry it’s vital farmers do all they can to educate and interact with the net generation to help safeguard the future of food production.
