Year 3 – Grasslands Farm Visit

Year 3 spent an amazing day at Grasslands Farm in Rufforth, near York where the pupils immersed themselves in farming for the day! Joining Jane and Rob from the charity Country Trust and Farmer David, children spent the morning learning about beef cattle, how to rear and look after them and how to keep safe around them. A highlight was certainly becoming cows and going through the cattle handling equipment, including the cattle crush! Children then got hands on with the range of crops grown on the farm; wheat, oats and barely. After exploring the food products they help to create, pupils experienced grinding wheat seeds and sieving the flour it produced. We learnt how crops are stored and the whole cycle from ploughing the field to harvesting the crop. Children also learnt about the life cycles of chickens and what happens inside the egg at different stages of development. There was also an opportunity to sit in working tractors to experience what a farmer would see whilst driving. After lunch, children visited a field to play games and dig up parts of it to test the quality of the soil by searching for worms. Finally, as part of a Country Trust initiative, children planted a pair of cotton pants! In two months’ time, Farmer David and Rob will zoom call us live from the field as they dig up the pants where, hopefully, we will find that the worms have helped to decompose them so that only the elastic remains. Fingers crossed!  

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