Ennis Barton Farm hosts 乐播传媒pupils
In mid-October, a selection of children from across the trust came together to take part in a special pilot project being run by Andrew and Claire Brewer at Ennis Barton Farm, Fraddon. This career focussed event, primarily aimed at raising aspirations of young people in Cornwall, introduces local children to life on a busy, working dairy farm; caring for livestock, learning about what plants are grown as feed and experiencing first-hand the process of milking and milk production.
Andrew Brewer is a pasture-based dairy farmer and farms 1,000 acres at Ennis Barton. He owns 500 Jersey cross cows and also lets out some land for the production of potatoes and cabbages. The farm is part of the Farm Net Zero project, a community of farmers in Cornwall taking action to address climate change and protect soil health. In 2024 Andrew won 'Carbon Farmer of the Year'.
The KS1 and KS2 children represented 20 乐播传媒academies and immediately bonded with the two-week calves in the Calf Barn. The children were able to feed the animals from their hands, stroke them and watch them suckle from special teats attached to a drum of milk. Claire talked about how a cow's digestion works (all four stomachs!) and the fact they only have a bottom set of teeth with a hard top palette as they're herbivores.
The huge field of specially grown crops for nutritious cow's feed gave the children a wonderful opportunity to try and identify all the various species of plants, and more importantly have a run around in the fresh air.
The enormous milking parlour gave the children some idea of the technology now involved in modern farming. There was even the opportunity to stick your finger in the nozzle to test the degree of 'suck' that a cow feels on its udder! No fingers were lost during this experiment.
Farming is literally the lifeblood of our region, and it’s essential that children not only understand and appreciate where their food comes from but understand the opportunities available to them as adults. An enthusiastic and ambitious young workforce wanting to stay in the Duchy and find employment in the many hundreds of (mainly) livestock farms here in the west can only be beneficial to this county’s economic future.
In the video clip below, Claire Brewer talks about involving local schoolchildren (and teachers!) in the life of the farm and in the world of agriculture in general, through farm visits and ‘hands-on’ activities.
Andrew and Claire would welcome schools contacting them directly to arrange a visit. Their address is Ennis Barton, Fraddon, St Columb, Cornwall, TR9 6EY. Telephone: 01726 860228.