Farmers for Schools

We were delighted to welcome local arable farmer, Luke Abblitt, to King's Ely Prep last week.
Luke - also known as 'Farmer Luke' on Instagram - is based near Ramsey, and is a 'Farmers for Schools Ambassador' for the NFU (National Farmers'​ Union).


Helen Melville, my colleague, invited Luke into school to talk to Year 7 pupils, as part of our 'Food for Thought' topic.

Helend said: 

"Luke spoke to us about his crops, what he can grow and when, and he explained his modern crop rotation to us. Luke discussed some of the issues facing modern farming, and how he tries to overcome these; in particular the problem of excess potatoes that he has at the moment, which was really relevant to our recent work on the rising costs of fish and chips.

"We had the opportunity to ask loads of questions about many aspects of farming, which Luke answered with detail and enthusiasm. Luke was very impressed with all the questions, and how keen and interested our pupils were. Thank you to Luke for sparing us some time in his very busy schedule!"

Image: Jordan Day

Open Farm Sunday

For King's Ely Geographers this is your annual chance to see some of the place where your food is grown as farms open their gates and welcome visitors.

There are some local farms doing this, including some particularly large farms which are important local employers.

Two weeks until the big day! 👏🥳

LEAF Open Farm Sunday, 11th June 2023 - don't miss out on the opportunity to visit a farm and hear first hand from a farmer about where your food is produced, what they are doing to look after the environment & more! 👇👇https://t.co/JZpwphs1t1 pic.twitter.com/NQb1jeqpsv

— LEAFOpenFarmSunday (@OpenFarmSunday) May 28, 2023

High Rise Pigs

This article in a recent Guardian newspaper describes the move towards intensive pig production in China which has resulted in a multi-storey pig farm.

This is partly driven by the huge demand for pork in China, which consumes almost half the world's pork, with a high per capita consuption.

This is just one of many food related stories that we are exploring at the moment. 

More to come over the next week or so when I share a few bits I've made.

OneSoil

One for those teaching about food and farming.

An AI generated map of crops being grown in the USA and Europe.

Organic vs Intensive

We use this video to consider the differences between organic and intensive farming.

We also let Joe Rolfe tell us how he uses and encourages beneficial insects to protect his carrot crop.

From field to fork... and fun

Nice video to reinforce some simple messages about local food...

Guy's rants

Thanks to Simon Renshaw for directing me towards the website of Guy Watson.

Guy is the owner of Riverford Organics, so obviously has an interest in promoting his own approach to farming, and has had time to develop and build his business to the point where it is now.

A series of his 'rants' can be found on YouTube, and some of them would make useful provocations or introductions to thinking about agriculture. I haven't watched them all, so can't guarantee the odd bit of (organic) fruity language...