Emily Ashworth speaks to leading farming charity, The Country Trust, about the most asked questions children ask most when meeting a farmer. The organisations work is a key educational tool for many in the industry and they are passionate about getting kids involved with agriculture.
For more than 40 years, the Country Trust has been instrumental in connecting schools and farms, working with children who usually do not get to explore the countryside.Last year, the charity helped more than 29,000 children get hands-on with farming and food and, over 12 months of visits, the Country Trust team has collated the top questions asked by their little visitors.
Chief Executive of theCountry Trust, Jill Attenborough, said: When children understand where food comes from and spend time outdoors there is a massive knock-on effect for their health and the environment. There are other benefits too teachers tell us it helps with vocabulary, imagination, building curiosity and confidence.
We are on a mission to connect children with the land that sustains us all. Bringing the countryside and food alive for the next generation is needed now more than ever, and at the centre of this is farming. We all eat, and how we eat determines our own health and the health of the world around us. That is why we believe every child should have the chance to connect with farms and farming as part of their education.
We work with farmers across the country who, with our support, open up their farms so children can explore where food comes from for themselves. A visit to a farm is also real-world maths, science, geography and design technology, it inspires literacy, critical thinking, problem solving and debate. Crucially, it also opens up future career possibilities, including in farming itself.
Top ten questions from children to farmers
- Why is that sheep wearing earrings?
- Do brown cows make chocolate milk?
- What is that smell?
- Do you ever go on holiday?
- What time do you get up in the morning?
- Do you get scared in the countryside?
- How are eggs made inside the chicken?
- How expensive is the tractor?
- You have all this land, are you really rich?
- Are those cows cuddling?
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Other popular ones were quite practical, asking farmers how they know if the cows are happy and how to tell the difference between boy and girl cows.
But one host farmer, Rob Atkin from Uttoxeter, believes farmers can have a positive impact on the next generation and should continue to drive this core message home.
He said: I am passionate about making sure younger generations know where food comes from.
There is a big disconnect between children and food. It is so important British farmers engage with children to change that and showcase the high standards we farm to. You cannot tell children this stuff, they have to see it for themselves.
Before I was introduced to The Country Trust, organising school visits direct just felt a bit too much on top of the day job. They have definitely made things a lot easier for me to host.
