Primary 6s and 7s were very lucky to have had a visit from William Steel, an organic farmer, this morning.

William works on a farm in Lesmahagow. He described to us how organic farming differs from conventional farming, in terms of placing more importance on environmental impact and sustainability. William told us about natural, organic fertilisers and the benefits of using these as opposed to chemicals and pesticides.

Did you know…

Organic farmers focus on ensuring packaging is made using minimal plastic and encourages using recyclable materials.

Less importance is placed on the uniformity of our veggies in organic farms (each fruit and vegetable is unique and precious, like us!)

In terms of being aware of the neighbouring environment, organic farmers look after and monitor water levels, not using pesticides, and they cut wild flowers later to allow them to seed.

Black and white cows are dairy cows who produce milk. Only female cows produce milk.
Black cows produce meat.

Organic chicken is very expensive as the organic cereals the chicken eat is also expensive to buy.

Mint is a good, natural antibiotic for cows when they are feeling poorly.

A sheep’s worst enemy is his mate!

Seaweed is the best organic fertiliser (full of salt)

We asked lots of interesting questions too, which William happily answered;

Sakeena: “How do chickens lay eggs that sometimes have a double yolk inside?”

Fareed: “How come sheep sometimes have colours painted on their wool?”

Saad Khan: “Which animal would you say is the hardest to breed and look after?”

Hopefully, we can arrange a visit to William’s farm soon to appreciate and see all of his land and crops in the flesh!

Thanks again for coming – we really enjoyed the presentation.

Primary 6s and Primary 7s 🙂