This week we were lucky enough to get a talk from the soil association and visit a dairy farm where we learned in depth the inner workings of a technologically advanced farm. The farm visit was very surprising to see how extremely efficient they were at milking the cows. The main barn was highly advanced with special curtains along the side of the barn to keep the temperature right and a unique robot that would dispense and push food towards the cows. This robot used a laser to measure the height of the hay and adjusted the food accordingly. The cows also were trained to enter a machine that would automatically seek out there udders and milk them. The machinery was very hi-tech and we were told it would cost around £100,000 to purchase. However even with all the hi-tech equipment the price of milk continues to be low making it more difficult for the business to be profitable. The cows heritage also plays a large part of how much it is worth as it its family tree is tracked back many generations. Interestingly if the calf born is male it is sadly not allowed to survive as it is not cost effective for the business. Only one bull was kept in the whole barn and was chosen specifically for the next generation. The farm also had a bank of frozen sperm that would detail the bulls characteristics which could be required to fix a problem in the next generation. e.g If one cow has a history of blood conditions a bull with a higher immune system that could perhaps prevent blood conditions in future generations.

We also received a talk from the soil association which discussed how to identify different types of soil, who the soil association are and what they do. We also learned how crucial soil is in our lives as 95% of our food relies on healthy soil. Perhaps the most surprising fact we learned was the fact that soil helps combat climate change greatly, whether it is through filtering our water and purifying our air to storing large amounts of harmful carbon.

Study task